Bitvavo Reviews

In short: Bitvavo is one of the cheapest crypto exchanges for investors who trade in euros: 427 coins, all directly against the euro, trading from 0.15% as a maker and 0.25% as a taker, free SEPA deposits. The exchange holds a MiCA licence from the Dutch regulator AFM and serves customers across the EU, including Germany. A savings plan, staking and leveraged trading of up to ten times complement spot trading.

Is Bitvavo safe and licensed in the EU?

Yes, Bitvavo may serve customers across the EU. Bitvavo B.V., based in Amsterdam, has been authorised as a crypto-asset service provider under Article 63 MiCA since 26 June 2025, licensed by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). Through the EU passport the licence covers 30 EEA countries, including Germany, France and Spain (ESMA register, file of 30 October 2026). It covers custody, operating the trading platform and transfers of crypto assets. Customers resident in Germany have their own country annex to the user agreement (version of 15 July 2025). In early 2024 Bitvavo temporarily stopped onboarding new customers from Germany; today the exchange lists Germany among its supported countries.

Custody and account guarantee: Bitvavo keeps most crypto assets offline in cold wallets with two custody providers, which according to the exchange are insured for up to $755 million; larger transfers require approval by several people. If a third party gains unauthorised access to your account and withdraws crypto, Bitvavo's account guarantee refunds up to €100,000 per incident, once per user. Transfers you send to scammers yourself are not covered (Bitvavo security page).

Euro balances, staking and lending: Bitvavo holds euros on your account as e-tokens in a separate e-token wallet. According to the user agreement it is not a deposit or investment account, and no statutory deposit guarantee applies. Staking and lending currently fall outside MiCA supervision, as Bitvavo states; lending is provided by the sister company Bitvavo Custody B.V.

What you can do yourself: turn on two-factor authentication, an anti-phishing code and a withdrawal address whitelist, keep larger amounts on your own hardware wallet and watch delisting dates. Bitvavo removes individual coins from trading, most recently Across Protocol on 27 October 2026, with Portal To Bitcoin (PTB) to follow on 6 November 2026.

Who is Bitvavo for?

Bitvavo suits investors in the EU who want to trade cheaply against the euro, deposit by SEPA and pick from a large range of coins without a detour via stablecoins; a savings plan and staking are included. If you want crypto, stocks and ETFs in one app, look at Bitpanda; for order-book trading with professional tools, Kraken Pro. An alternative with a listed parent company is Coinbase. All licensed providers are listed in our comparison of regulated crypto exchanges.

Bitvavo charges maker and taker fees that fall with your trading volume over the last 30 days. SEPA deposits and crypto deposits are free, and all 427 coins trade directly against the euro.

How to save: Trading as a maker, i.e. placing a limit order on the order book, costs EUR 1.50 instead of EUR 2.50 as a taker on EUR 1,000. Deposit via SEPA instead of by card, which saves EUR 10 on EUR 1,000. Bundle crypto withdrawals, since the fee applies per withdrawal. We compare other exchanges with maker and taker fees in our crypto exchange comparison.

As of 1 November 2026 according to the Bitvavo fee page (accessed from Germany, deposit fees may differ by country) and the Bitvavo API (coin count, withdrawal fees; euro values at the 1 November 2026 rate).

Bitvavo bonus and referral programme

Bitvavo runs a referral programme: if you open your account through an existing customer's personal link, you both receive a benefit whose type and amount Bitvavo sets per campaign. The conditions are part of Bitvavo's user agreement (version of 15 July 2025). As of 24 October 2026.