Bitget vs Bitpanda Comparison

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.

In short: Bitpanda is the convenient way to collect crypto, stocks, ETFs and precious metals in one MiCA-regulated account: more than 650 crypto assets, savings plans from €1 and a Tell-a-Friend bonus of up to €100. The trading fee is 0.99% for Bitcoin and 1.49% for most altcoins.

Is Bitpanda safe and licensed in the EU?

Bitpanda is a Vienna-based broker for crypto assets, stocks, ETFs and precious metals and reports more than 7 million users. Its crypto services in the EU now run under MiCA: the ESMA register lists three authorised Bitpanda companies, Bitpanda GmbH via the Austrian FMA since April 2025, Bitpanda Asset Management GmbH via BaFin in Germany since January 2025 and BP23 CA Limited via the Maltese MFSA. In August 2026 the FMA published a fine of €70,000 against Bitpanda GmbH: a crypto white paper reached the regulator too late and was advertised before it was published. Our analysis of the MiCA penalty explains what it means for investors.

What the 2025 loss means for your funds: Bitpanda GmbH reported a loss of about €14 million for 2025, after a profit of €61.7 million the year before, on adjusted revenue of €371 million. Licensed providers must hold clients' crypto assets and money separately from their own assets under Articles 70 and 75 of MiCA, so a loss-making year does not directly affect client holdings. Our report on Bitpanda’s annual accounts shows what you can check yourself.

What does Bitpanda cost?

Bitpanda does not win on costs. Bitcoin costs 0.99 per cent per buy or sell, most altcoins 1.49 per cent and small caps 2.49 per cent. Frequent traders pay noticeably more with percentage fees at this level than on an exchange with an order book; our crypto exchange comparison puts the cost per €1,000 side by side. In return, Bitpanda bundles savings plans, staking, crypto indices, stocks and ETFs at €1 per trade and physical precious metals in one app, and the account, custody and fiat deposits and withdrawals cost nothing.

Who is Bitpanda for?

User reviews draw the same picture: the app is praised as clear and easy to use, and costs are the most common complaint. Bitpanda suits investors who want to build up crypto and other asset classes over time in a regulated EU account. If the lowest trading fee is your priority, the comparison will point you to a better fit.