MiCA-LICENSED
CRYPTO EXCHANGES
Twelve exchanges checked against the ESMA CASP register, not against each other’s marketing. Nine are authorised; three are not. Each row names the legal entity that holds the licence — a global brand and its authorised European entity are not the same company, and only one of them is regulated where you live.
COMPARE ALL 12 EXCHANGES
Register-verified · re-check before you deposit · exchange names stay pinned while you scroll
| Exchange | Legal entity | Regulator | Authorised | MiCA services | Trading venue | Fee model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 KrakenCASP · 8/10 | Payward Europe Solutions Ltd | IE · Central Bank of Ireland | 25 Jun 2025 | 8 of 10 | Yes · 2nd entity | Tiered maker/taker — 0.40% / 0.80% at tier 1 |
 BitstampCASP · 7/10 | Bitstamp Europe S.A. | LU · CSSF | 15 May 2025 | 7 of 10 | Yes | Three separate axes — standard, FX/stable, USDT |
 BitvavoCASP · 3/10 | Bitvavo B.V. · KvK 68743424 | NL · AFM | 26 Jun 2025 | 3 of 10 | Yes | Ten-tier maker/taker on EUR markets |
 OKXCASP · 9/10 | OKX Europe Limited | MT · MFSA | 27 Jan 2025 | 9 of 10 | Yes | Volume-tiered maker/taker |
 GateCASP · 6/10 | Gate Technology Limited | MT · MFSA | 29 Sep 2025 | 6 of 10 | Yes | Volume-tiered maker/taker |
 CoinbaseCASP · 7/10 | Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. | LU · CSSF | 20 Jun 2025 | 7 of 10 | No | Not published per entity |
 BybitCASP · 5/10 | Bybit EU GmbH | AT · FMA | 28 May 2025 | 5 of 10 | No | 0.25% maker / 0.10% taker — changing 5 Oct 2026 |
 Crypto.comCASP · 6/10 | Foris DAX MT Limited | MT · MFSA | 27 Jan 2025 | 6 of 10 | No | Volume tier × token holding |
 BitpandaCASP · 7/10 | Bitpanda GmbH · BP23 CA Limited | AT · FMA + MT · MFSA | 09 Apr 2025 | 7 of 10 | No · broker | Spread, not a commission |
 BinanceNOT AUTHORISED | No authorised EU entity | — | Exited the EU | — | — | — |
 MEXCWARNING LIST | No authorised EU entity | — | On the regulator warning list | — | — | — |
 BitgetPENDING | Bitget EU — applicant, not authorised | AT · FMA (applied) | Application pending | — | — | — |
Authorisation fields from the ESMA CASP register. Fee models from each exchange’s own published schedule; asset counts, where shown, are indicative and dated. Fee models are shown rather than single rates because these twelve price in six different ways — one “fees from” figure across them would be false. Verified 29 August 2026.
FOUR REGULATORY STATES
“Licensed” is not one condition — it is four, and only the first protects you
AUTHORISED · 9 EXCHANGES
On the ESMA CASP register, with the licence-holding entity named
Kraken
Payward Europe Solutions Ltd holds the CASP authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland, with an e-money licence in a second Irish entity. Spot fees run a twelve-tier maker/taker ladder and stablecoin pairs are priced on their own axis.
Kraken is the clearest case for reading the fee schedule rather than a comparison site. Aggregators publish 0.25% / 0.40%; Kraken’s own schedule says 0.40% / 0.80% at tier 1 — double on the taker side. The ladder is genuinely deep, so high-volume traders land far below that, but the headline number most sites quote is not the one you pay on your first trade.
Bitstamp
One of only three exchanges here whose CASP authorisation actually includes operating a trading platform. Licence N00000003 from Luxembourg’s CSSF. Fees are priced on three independent axes rather than one ladder.
Bitstamp prices on three axes and no comparison site we checked reflected that. Standard pairs start at 0.30% / 0.40%, FX and stablecoin pairs at 0.060% / 0.080%, and USDT pairs at 0.030% / 0.040% — an order of magnitude apart. Which axis you are on matters far more than which tier.
Bitvavo
Amsterdam-based, authorised by the AFM under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 — stated in their own footer. Holds the trading-platform permission. EUR is the only fiat rail.
Bitvavo is the cheapest entry point of the nine and holds a real venue permission, but on the narrowest authorisation: three services against Kraken’s eight. Worth knowing that it does offer margin trading on 21 assets with a 2% liquidation threshold — the sources describing it as spot-only are wrong.
OKX
Among the first CASP authorisations granted anywhere, in January 2025. Nine of the ten MiCA services including operation of a trading platform, plus a MiFID II licence and a Malta payment institution licence.
OKX holds the broadest authorisation here and says something worth repeating in its own legal material: a licence held by the global entity does not protect an EU user. That is the same trap as bybit.com against bybit.eu, stated by an exchange about itself.
Gate
Authorised in Malta in September 2025, LEI 984500D6A0F945BB5A15, passporting into 29 EU/EEA states. Also holds a payment institution licence under the Malta Financial Institutions Act.
Gate is on this page because of a correction. It was originally placed in the unlicensed tier on an assumption, and a register check moved it. The reason it looked unlicensed is instructive: the ESMA register records legal entity names, so searching “Gate.io” returns nothing and reads as an absence of authorisation.
Coinbase
The EU entity is Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. under the CSSF, licence N00000004 — not the Irish entity most sources name. Authorised for exchange, execution and custody, but not to operate a trading venue.
Coinbase is the one exchange here whose fees we will not state. Two aggregators published different figures, neither traceable to a Coinbase page for the EEA entity, so the cell reads not published rather than picking one. The entity itself is also commonly reported wrong — it is Luxembourg, not Ireland.
Bybit
Bybit EU GmbH holds the Austrian FMA authorisation, LEI 5299005V5GBSN2A4C303, passporting into 29 EU/EEA markets. EEA clients are served through bybit.eu, not the global bybit.com.
The domain is the whole story here. bybit.eu is operated by Bybit EU GmbH and carries the MiCA authorisation; bybit.com does not. Note also that the fee schedule changes on 5 October 2026, so anything published before then — including this page — needs re-reading after that date.
Crypto.com
The EEA entity is Foris DAX MT Limited under the MFSA, authorised January 2025. Fees are not a flat rate: they are a function of 30-day volume and how much of the exchange’s own token you hold.
Crypto.com cannot be reduced to a fee percentage, which is why this table shows a fee model rather than a number. Your rate is a function of two variables — 30-day volume and token holding — and sources publishing it as a flat tier are describing something that does not exist.
Bitpanda
Two authorised entities: Bitpanda GmbH under the Austrian FMA and BP23 CA Limited under the MFSA. Bitpanda does not run an order book at all — it is a broker, and the cost is in the spread.
Bitpanda is a broker, not an exchange, and that single fact makes most comparisons of it meaningless. There is no order book, so there is no maker or taker rate; you pay a spread. Any table showing Bitpanda with a percentage trading fee alongside Kraken and Bitstamp is comparing two different products.
NOT AUTHORISED · 3 EXCHANGES
Listed so you can check the status — these cards carry no links, by policy
Binance
Binance filed for authorisation in Greece and withdrew the application in June 2026 without securing it. Following the 1 July 2026 enforcement date it notified users in France, Spain, Italy and Poland that it can no longer provide crypto-asset services. Not pending — exited.
We do not link to exchanges that are not authorised to serve EEA clients, in any circumstances and regardless of commercial terms. This entry exists so you can see the status, not so you can reach the venue.
MEXC
MEXC is not on the register, and goes further than simple absence: the Dutch regulator AFM has flagged it on the ESMA warning list of firms providing crypto services without the required authorisation. That is a regulator naming it, not an omission.
We do not link to exchanges that are not authorised to serve EEA clients, in any circumstances and regardless of commercial terms. This entry exists so you can see the status, not so you can reach the venue.
Bitget
Bitget EU filed a MiCAR authorisation application with Austria’s FMA on 17 June 2026 from its Vienna headquarters. The application is under assessment. An application is not an authorisation — only an entry in the ESMA register confirms a granted licence, and Bitget has none as of 27 August 2026.
We do not link to exchanges that are not authorised to serve EEA clients, in any circumstances and regardless of commercial terms. This entry exists so you can see the status, not so you can reach the venue.
