BISON vs Bitget Comparison

Editorial assessment, November 2026: We have downgraded BISON to 1.9 out of 5 and do not recommend it. The deciding factor is cost. According to BISON's fee page (accessed 8 November 2026), the proportional spread on Bitcoin and Ethereum averages 1.25 percent per purchase or sale, and 1.75 percent on all other cryptocurrencies. Buying Bitcoin and selling it later therefore costs around 2.5 percent, and around 3.5 percent for other coins. Deposits by credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay cost an extra 2.49 percent, and BISON keeps 27 percent of staking rewards on Ethereum and Solana. MiCA-licensed exchanges in our exchange comparison charge from 0.2 percent for the same purchase. The authorisation of EUWAX AG and Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody GmbH in the ESMA register does not change this calculation.

BISON is the crypto app of Börse Stuttgart and is perceived in the DACH region as a provider with a traditional capital markets background. The provider is EUWAX AG, a Börse Stuttgart company supervised by BaFin that has notified BaFin of its crypto services under MiCA. Crypto custody is handled by Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody GmbH, which has held a MiCA authorisation from BaFin since January 2025. Euro balances are held at Solaris SE and Deutsche Bank and are covered by statutory deposit protection up to EUR 100,000 per investor and bank. According to BISON, 69 cryptocurrencies are tradable, plus stocks and ETFs, and the app has more than 1.06 million users.

As one of the few offerings among German brokers, BISON allows free wallet transfers to your own wallets. Staking, savings plans, and an integrated tax report are also available. According to BISON, staking of Ethereum and Solana is currently not regulated under MiCA. Deposits are possible via SEPA, instant bank transfer, and credit card.

Costs sit in the spread, which according to BISON averages 1.25 % on Bitcoin and Ethereum and 1.75 % on all other cryptocurrencies, the upper range among the brokers compared. The exclusively SMS-based 2FA and the processing time for wallet transfers of up to 24 hours are also seen as room for improvement. Overall, BISON is aimed at investors who prefer an established German provider and are willing to accept trade-offs in fees and coin selection.

In short: Bitget is one of the large crypto exchanges for active traders: more than 1,000 coins, spot trading from 0.1%, futures from 0.02% for makers, plus copy trading and trading bots. It serves customers in many countries outside the EU and publishes a proof of reserves every month, most recently with 115% coverage. Whether you can open an account depends on where you live, so check the country section below first.

Is Bitget safe and legit?

Regulation: Bitget is operated by BTG Technology Holdings Limited. Its licence page lists a digital currency exchange registration with AUSTRAC in Australia, a crypto asset service provider licence from the FSCA in South Africa, registration with the CNV in Argentina, licences in El Salvador, Mauritius and Georgia, membership of a FINMA-recognised self-regulatory organisation in Switzerland, and in the UK promotions approved by an FCA-authorised firm under section 21 of FSMA. Australia's securities regulator ASIC confirms the AUSTRAC registration for exchange services and points out that Bitget holds no Australian financial services licence for its crypto futures (ASIC investor alert).

The hack of 24 September 2026: Through a flaw at a third-party software supplier, about $388 million left the exchange's wallets; Chainalysis attributes the attack to groups linked to North Korea. Bitget's protection fund covered the loss and customer balances stayed unchanged. From 28 September Bitget reopened withdrawals in stages; according to the exchange's public API, Bitcoin, Ether, USDT, XRP and Solana, among others, were withdrawable again on 1 November 2026. More in our reports Bitget after the hack and what existing customers should check.

Reserves and protection fund: Bitget has published a Merkle-tree proof of reserves every month since December 2022. The snapshot of 21 October 2026 shows total coverage of 115%: 113% for Bitcoin, 105% for USDT and 162% for Ether (Bitget proof of reserves). According to Bitget, the protection fund holds 3,705 BTC, valued at about $286 million on 1 November 2026; its dollar value moves with the bitcoin price. It is a voluntary reserve of the exchange, not a statutory deposit guarantee.

What you can do yourself: turn on two-factor authentication and a withdrawal address whitelist, and keep larger amounts in your own wallet, for example a hardware wallet.

Where can you use Bitget?

Bitget's Terms of Use (version of 20 October 2026) exclude residents of Afghanistan, Austria, Belarus, Canada, the Central African Republic, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, North Korea, Russia, Singapore, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Thailand, the United States and its territories, Yemen and the Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Using a VPN to get around this is not allowed.

In the EU every crypto exchange needs a licence under the MiCA regulation since 1 July 2026. Bitget has applied to Austria's Financial Market Authority and does not yet appear in the ESMA register (file of 30 October 2026), so it opens new EU accounts once that licence is granted. In India crypto service providers register with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND); Bitget said in July 2025 that it was in talks about registration. In the Philippines the SEC named Bitget in an advisory of 1 August 2025 on platforms without a local registration.

Bitget referral code and welcome bonus

The Bitget referral code is 94qs. If you open the sign-up page through the button on this page, the code is already filled in. On 1 November 2026 Bitget's sign-up page advertised welcome rewards of up to 6,200 USDT for new users; the tasks behind them, such as a first deposit or trading volume, and the amount you can actually earn depend on your country and are shown on Bitget's event page after sign-up. Step-by-step instructions, the voucher rules and the countries where the code works are on our page about the Bitget referral code; every spot, futures and VIP rate is in our overview of Bitget fees.

Bitget copy trading

Copy trading mirrors the trades of other users, Bitget's “elite traders”, in your own account. Bitget offers it for futures, spot, trading bots and CFDs. For every elite trader the copy trading leaderboard shows the 30-day profit and loss, return, the profit of their copiers, the assets they manage and the maximum drawdown. The trader you follow passes on losses just as readily as gains, and futures copy trading uses leverage, so set a maximum amount per trader and a stop-loss before you start. Our Bitget copy trading guide walks through the settings.

Bitget Wallet and the exchange

Bitget Wallet is a separate self-custody app, not your exchange account: coins in the wallet do not sit on the exchange, and coins on the exchange are not in the wallet. The September attack hit the exchange's wallets, not the app. With the keyless setup one of two key shares sits on Bitget's server; what that means for you is explained in Bitget Wallet is not the exchange.

Who is Bitget for?

Bitget suits experienced traders who want futures, copy trading and a very large choice of coins and who live in a country where Bitget accepts customers, such as Australia. If you live in the EU, choose an exchange with a MiCA licence, such as Bybit EU (licensed by the FMA), OKX, Kraken or Bitvavo. Exchanges licensed in your region are listed in our comparison of regulated crypto exchanges.