Bitget vs Trade Republic 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.

Trade Republic is considered one of the best-known neobrokers in the DACH region and is used by many users as an entry point into the world of cryptocurrencies. Trade Republic is a bank supervised by BaFin and, in addition to 50 cryptocurrencies, also offers stocks, ETFs, and derivatives from a single source. By its own account it is one of the first banks in Europe authorised under the EU's MiCA regulation; ESMA's register has listed the crypto services of Trade Republic Bank GmbH since 28 April 2025, notified to BaFin as a bank under Article 60 of MiCA. Users appreciate that Trade Republic charges no order commission; each single order costs a flat EUR 1, savings plans run without it, and the remaining costs arise through the spread, whose transparency is occasionally rated as room for improvement.

Particularly appreciated are the savings plans from €1, which make it easy to get started with regular crypto investing. For investors who want to manage crypto, stocks, and ETFs in a single app, Trade Republic is considered one of the most accessible solutions on the German market. The app is described as intuitive and clearly geared toward beginners and occasional investors.

The Crypto Wallet lets you send cryptocurrencies to external wallets and receive them from there, according to Trade Republic without any transaction fees of its own. The SMS-based 2FA security is also considered room for improvement. Trade Republic is therefore especially suitable for investors looking for a regulated, uncomplicated way to access cryptocurrencies as part of a broad securities offering and who want to be able to move their coins to a wallet of their own.