Crypto exchanges by country: what MiCA covers and what it doesn't
One MiCA licence lets an exchange serve the whole EU, but your country still decides your tax, how you pay in euros and which warnings apply. Outside the EU, each country has its own regulator.
Germany
Living in Germany? Five MiCA-licensed crypto exchanges ranked on euro fees, SEPA and track record, plus the one-year tax rule. Bitvavo charges 0.25% a buy.
Netherlands
For Dutch residents: five MiCA-licensed crypto exchanges ranked on iDEAL, euro fees and track record. A €500 Bitvavo market buy costs €1.25 in fees.
Australia
For Australian residents: Kraken and Coinbase are the two exchanges we review that appear on AUSTRAC's public register, plus how to check AUSTRAC and ASIC.
Brazil
For crypto users in Brazil: since 2 February 2026, exchanges need Banco Central authorisation. How to check a platform, and why we rank none yet.
Canada
For crypto investors in Canada: Kraken, Crypto.com and Coinbase are on the CSA's list of authorised platforms. Fees, registration checks and who to avoid.
India
For crypto traders in India: exchanges must register with FIU-IND under PMLA, and VDA gains face a 30% tax plus 1% TDS. How to check a platform first.
Singapore
For Singapore residents: four crypto exchanges whose local companies we found in the MAS register on 23 October 2026, and how to check any licence.
United Arab Emirates
For UAE residents: four crypto exchanges we found on Dubai's VARA register on 23 October 2026, and how to check a licence yourself before you deposit.
United Kingdom
For UK residents: four FCA-registered crypto exchanges with worked fees in pounds and what FCA registration does and doesn't cover. Kraken Pro starts at 0.40%.
United States
Which crypto exchanges are licensed and allowed in the US? FinCEN, state money transmitter and New York BitLicense rules explained, and how to check a licence.
Crypto exchanges by country used to be a patchwork of national registrations. Since MiCA, one licence covers the European Union: a cryptocurrency exchange authorised by one national regulator can passport that licence to every other EEA country. What still changes from country to country is your tax, how you pay in euros, and which exchanges your own regulator has warned about.
We checked every licence on this page against data in ESMA’s interim MiCA register, updated on 22 October 2026, and the providers’ own pages on 23 October 2026. Cryptocurrency prices are volatile and the crypto market can fall fast, so you can lose all the money you put in.
How MiCA passporting works across the European Union
A MiCA licence is granted to a crypto-asset service provider, a firm that exchanges, holds or transfers digital assets, by one national regulator, the home regulator. It is then passported to other EEA states without a second licence, and the same MiCA rules apply in every member state where the business operates. The cryptocurrency business tells its home regulator where it will offer services, and those states appear next to its name in ESMA’s register.
Where the best crypto exchanges in Europe are licensed
The best crypto exchanges in Germany or the Netherlands are often licensed somewhere else:
| Exchange | Home regulator | Passported to |
|---|---|---|
| Bitvavo | AFM (Netherlands) | All other EEA states |
| Kraken | Central Bank of Ireland | The whole EEA |
| Coinbase | CSSF (Luxembourg) | The whole EEA |
| Bybit EU | FMA (Austria) | The EEA except Malta |
| OKX, Crypto.com and Gate | MFSA (Malta) | The other EEA states |
A passport doesn’t oblige an exchange to open in every country. Bitvavo serves residents of 25 SEPA countries and points Belgian residents to bitvavo.be, and Bitget’s terms bar Germany, France and Austria even though it has no MiCA licence anywhere.
MiCA covers cryptocurrency spot trading, custody and transfers of coins and tokens. Crypto derivatives, and securities such as stocks and ETFs, fall under MiFID II instead. That’s why Kraken offers futures through a separate CySEC-licensed entity in Cyprus and OKX runs its X-Perps derivatives under MiFID rules, for retail and institutional investors.
Why the start date differed by country
Before 1 July 2026, each country could let firms with a national registration keep operating for a while. The Netherlands allowed six months, to 30 June 2025, and Germany shortened its period to 31 December 2025. Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus allowed the full 18 months to 1 July 2026. Since that date the rules are the same everywhere: only MiCA-authorised firms may provide crypto services in the EU.
Why your country still matters
The licence travels; tax rules, payment methods and local regulation don’t. Three things depend on where you live.
Tax
You generally pay tax where you are tax resident, whichever country licensed the exchange. In the Netherlands, crypto falls under box 3, which for 2026 taxes a notional 6.00% return on investments at 36%, above an allowance of €59,357 per person. Germany taxes private crypto sales under its own rules, including a one-year holding period, explained on our Germany page. Tax reporting by exchanges also differs, so keep your own records of every trade in digital assets.
Local payment methods
Every licensed cryptocurrency exchange we review takes SEPA bank transfers, but local methods vary. Bitvavo accepts iDEAL and Wero in the Netherlands and Bancontact in Belgium at no cost, while card payments cost 1.00% at Bitvavo, 1.99% at OKX and 3.99% at Crypto.com. Bybit EU supports card and wallet top-ups in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland.
Local regulator warnings and fines
National regulators still act against cryptocurrency businesses that serve their residents without permission. The Dutch AFM warned on 16 September 2025 that MEXC served Dutch residents without a MiCA licence, a warning now on ESMA’s list of non-compliant firms. De Nederlandsche Bank fined Coinbase €3.3 million, Crypto.com €2.85 million, and both Bybit’s and OKX’s global operators €2.25 million for serving Dutch customers without registration. In Austria, the FMA said on 18 May 2026 that KuCoin EU may not start operating yet, despite its licence.
Check your own regulator’s site before you deposit funds, and turn on two-factor authentication on any account you open.
How to find the best cryptocurrency exchange where you live
Evaluate a cryptocurrency exchange in your country with five checks, in this order:
- Licence and availability: is the company in ESMA’s register, passported to your country, and accepting new customers there? A licence doesn’t guarantee access: KuCoin EU holds one but may not start business operations.
- Local regulation and warnings: search your national regulator’s site for warnings or fines against the brand.
- Money in and out: which payment methods you can use, such as SEPA, iDEAL or Bancontact, and what withdrawals cost.
- Fees in euros: the maker and taker fees on a €100 or €1,000 Bitcoin buy.
- Tax data: whether the exchange gives you a yearly statement or a transaction export for your tax return.
Size metrics such as trading volume and liquidity data matter mostly to active traders and institutions. For a €100 monthly Bitcoin buy, the licence and the fees count for more.
How our exchange ranking works per country
Each country page in our exchange ranking lists only exchanges that may legally serve residents there. For EU countries, we start from our crypto exchange reviews, keep the MiCA-licensed cryptocurrency platforms that are live in that country, and rank them on fees in euros, local payment methods and track record for crypto investors in that country. We don’t rank by trading volume, liquidity or other market data, which favour the largest platforms. A €500 market buy on Bitvavo, for example, costs €1.25 in trading fees in both Germany and the Netherlands; the coins and trading pairs are the same, and what differs is how you deposit and how you’re taxed.
Outside the EU, MiCA doesn’t apply, and our exchange ranking only includes exchanges we could find on the local register: the FCA in the United Kingdom, AUSTRAC and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in Australia, MAS in Singapore, VARA in Dubai and the ADGM FSRA in Abu Dhabi, the CSA in Canada, FIU-IND in India and the Banco Central do Brasil. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the CFTC, FinCEN and state regulators each cover part of the market. The same company can be licensed in one place and gone from another: Gemini closed its EEA, UK and Australian accounts in April 2026 but still serves the US and Singapore.
For a Europe-wide shortlist, see the best crypto exchanges for EU residents, or start with the best crypto exchange in the Netherlands.
Questions people ask
Can I use a crypto exchange licensed in another EU country?
Yes. A cryptocurrency exchange's MiCA authorisation from one national regulator can be passported to the other EEA states. Kraken's Irish licence, for example, is passported to every EEA country, including the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
How do I check whether an exchange may serve my country?
Look the company up in ESMA's interim MiCA register, which lists authorised firms and where they passport to, and in ESMA's list of non-compliant firms. The AFM in the Netherlands and BaFin in Germany also publish their own registers.
What happened to exchanges without a MiCA licence?
The transitional period ended EU-wide on 1 July 2026. Since then only MiCA-authorised firms may provide crypto services in the EU, and ESMA told unauthorised firms to stop taking on clients and wind down in an orderly way. Binance, for example, now limits EU users to withdrawals.
Do I pay tax where I live or where the exchange is licensed?
Generally where you are tax resident, not where the exchange is based. A Dutch resident using Kraken's Irish entity still declares crypto in Dutch box 3, which for 2026 taxes a notional return of 6.00% on investments at 36%, above a €59,357 allowance per person.
Which countries outside the EU do you cover?
The United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, India and Brazil. Our main focus is Europe, so our research there only ranks exchanges we could find on the local regulator's register.