Binance vs Bitget: EU access, fees and which to choose

Binance vs Bitget compares two of the biggest offshore crypto exchanges, both strong in futures and both with copy trading. For EU residents, though, the answer on 23 October 2026 is neither. Binance has no MiCA licence and has limited EU users to withdrawals since 1 July 2026. Bitget has only applied for a MiCA licence, doesn’t accept residents of Germany, France or Austria, and was hacked in September 2026.

Outside the EU, Binance is cheaper on spot and futures fees and runs the larger protection fund, while Bitget puts copy trading at the centre of its platform. Below we compare licences, fees with euro examples, products and track record, using each exchange’s official pages as checked on 23 October 2026. For the full picture of each, read our Binance review and Bitget review.

Can you use Binance or Bitget in the EU?

No. Neither exchange holds a MiCA licence, and since MiCA’s transition period ended on 1 July 2026, ESMA has told unauthorised firms to stop onboarding EU users and wind down. Your jurisdiction decides the rest.

Binance filed a MiCA application with Greece’s HCMC in January 2026 and withdrew it on 24 June 2026, after reports that the regulator was leaning towards rejection. From 1 July 2026 it stopped onboarding EU users and suspended deposits, new spot orders and Earn, keeping withdrawals open. It left the Netherlands in 2023. Binance has said it will seek a licence in another member state, but we couldn’t confirm a new application on 23 October 2026.

Bitget confirmed on 2 July 2026 that Bitget EU, in Vienna, had applied to Austria’s FMA for MiCA authorisation, but it doesn’t appear in ESMA’s register of 22 October 2026. Its terms of use, updated 20 October 2026, list Austria, France, Germany and the US among prohibited countries. It stopped new sign-ups from France and Germany on 16 January 2026 and ended all services for French residents on 31 March 2026. The Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland aren’t on its prohibited list, but without a MiCA licence Bitget has no authorisation to serve residents there.

Outside the EU, neither serves the US: US residents are served only by a separate platform, Binance.US, and Bitget lists the US as prohibited. In the UK, Binance paused new sign-ups in October 2023, and Bitget runs its financial promotions through an FCA-authorised partner. The rules in these regions are evolving, so check the terms for your country before you sign up.

Binance vs Bitget fees

Binance has lower fees once you pay with its token. Both charge 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker on spot at the entry level. Paying in BNB takes 25% off Binance’s rate, to 0.075%; paying in BGB takes 20% off Bitget’s, to 0.08%. On futures, Binance charges 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker on USDⓈ-M contracts, and Bitget 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker on USDT-M contracts. These are global-platform fees.

Here is what a market (taker) order costs at entry rates, as trade size × fee rate.

On spot trading the difference is cents. On futures it adds up for active traders: someone opening and closing €10,000 of positions a month with market orders pays €10.00 a month on Binance and €12.00 on Bitget, or €120 against €144 a year. Both exchanges lower fees through VIP tiers based on 30-day trading volume, holdings of their own token or assets; most users never leave the entry tier.

Holding BNB or BGB to save fees exposes you to that token’s price. A 10% fall on a €200 holding costs €20, far more than the discount on small trades.

Withdrawing Bitcoin costs the same on both: 0.00002 BTC on the Bitcoin network on 23 October 2026. Neither publishes euro deposit or withdrawal fees we could verify. Binance supports 13 fiat currencies, including EUR and USD, but EU deposits are suspended; Bitget lists EUR. Check the deposit screen before you send fiat.

Fees aren’t the only cost. On a market order you also pay the spread, the gap between the best buy and sell prices on the order book. On major pairs such as BTC/USDT the spread is usually tight; on small coins with thin order book depth, the spread can cost more than the fee. Check depth before a large market order, and use limit orders where you can.

Futures, margin trading and copy trading

Both exchanges are built for derivatives: Binance offers futures and margin trading alongside a large spot market, and Bitget’s platform focuses on futures and copy trading. Neither offers derivatives to EU residents, and Bitget’s copy trading isn’t provided under any EU authorisation.

Bitget is the stronger choice for copy trading. Its global platform offers spot copy trading, futures copy trading and bot copy trading, all on one platform. Binance also offers copy trading on its global platform, but it isn’t the centre of the product. Whichever you use, a copied trader’s losses become your losses, often with leverage, and leaderboard returns don’t predict future results.

Both also offer staking and an API for advanced users. Product flags in this comparison describe the global platforms, not any EU service.

Security, protection fund and track record

Binance has the larger protection fund and the older last hack; Bitget has the fresher wound. Both publish proof of reserves, and both have regulatory history.

Bitget’s September 2026 hack. On 24 September 2026 attackers drained part of Bitget’s hot and warm wallets. Bitget first estimated the loss at $351.6 million; it was later reported as $387.5 million. Bitget paused withdrawals and said its Protection Fund covers the loss. The final loss figure, the timeline for resuming withdrawals and the fund’s balance afterwards were still open questions on 23 October 2026.

Binance’s 2019 hack. Hackers stole 7,000 BTC, about $40 million, from a Binance hot wallet in 2019, and Binance covered the loss from its SAFU fund.

Protection funds. Binance’s SAFU fund was converted to 15,000 BTC, about $1 billion, in February 2026, and Binance says it will top it up if it falls below $800 million. Bitget’s User Protection Fund was stated at over $464 million in its 24 September 2026 incident notice; we couldn’t verify the current value.

Proof of reserves. Binance publishes Merkle-tree and zk-SNARK proof of reserves and says it holds user assets 1:1. Bitget publishes a monthly Merkle-tree proof of reserves with its reserve ratio. Neither states what share of digital assets sits in cold storage, and neither proof is a full financial audit: it shows assets at a snapshot, not all liabilities.

Regulatory record. Binance pleaded guilty in the US in 2023 to anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations and agreed to pay about $4.3 billion; DNB fined it €3.3 million in 2022. Bitget was blacklisted by France’s AMF from November 2023 until 9 July 2026, paused UK onboarding in May 2024 and left France and Germany in 2026.

Storing crypto on any exchange carries risk you can’t control. Turn on two factor authentication with an authenticator app, use a withdrawal-address allowlist, and keep long-term holdings in a wallet you control.

Who should choose Binance and who should choose Bitget

Choose by where you live first. EU readers should choose neither and pick a MiCA-licensed exchange instead, such as OKX, Gate, Crypto.com or Coinbase. If you hold crypto on Binance, withdrawals still work: send it to a licensed exchange or your own wallet, using the same network on both sides and a small test amount first.

Choose Binance if you live outside the EU in a country it serves, trade spot or futures often and want lower fees with BNB, or want the larger, published protection fund. Accept a regulatory record that includes a $4.3 billion US settlement.

Choose Bitget if you live outside the EU in a country it accepts, and copy trading is the main reason you want an exchange. Accept higher futures taker fees and the open questions after the September 2026 hack.

Look elsewhere if you’re a beginner, live in the EU or want a regulator to complain to. For a similar offshore pair, see KuCoin vs Bitget and Binance vs KuCoin.

We’re an editorial team, and we didn’t open accounts for this comparison. On 23 October 2026 we checked both exchanges’ fee schedules, terms, licence and proof-of-reserves pages, Bitget’s incident notice and ESMA’s MiCA register. Exchange statements, such as Bitget’s Protection Fund claim, are labelled as claims; see our methodology. Nothing here is financial advice, and crypto-assets can lose all their value.