Useful Articles / Germany
Which crypto exchanges can legally serve you in Germany
If you are trading from Germany, two things shape your options: BaFin's long habit of supervising this sector more closely than most of its neighbours, and a tax rule that rewards holding over trading in a way no other large EU market does.
Who can legally take you
Since 1 July 2026 a venue needs MiCA authorisation to serve German clients. The licence can be granted by any EEA regulator and passported in, so the venue you use may be supervised from Austria, Malta or Ireland rather than Frankfurt — that is how the regime is designed to work, and it is not a red flag.
| Venue | Licensed via | What you get in Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Bybit EU | Bybit EU GmbH, Austria (FMA) | Spot and spot margin. No perpetuals — the EU licence does not extend to them |
| OKX | OKX Europe Limited, Malta (MFSA) | Spot, margin and derivatives, on the strength of holding MiFID II permissions alongside MiCA |
| Kraken | MiCA authorised for the EEA | Spot, margin and derivatives, with a longer operating record than most |
Binance is not on that list. It withdrew its MiCA application in June 2026 and stopped serving EU retail clients on 1 July, which in a market this size meant a very large number of German accounts moving at once.
Funding: SEPA is the cheap path
German banks vary enormously in how they treat transfers to crypto venues. Some process them without comment; others flag, delay or decline them, particularly the larger retail banks. This is a bank policy question rather than a legal one — nothing prohibits the transfer.
Practical points that save money and irritation:
- SEPA transfer beats card by a wide margin on fees, and the difference compounds if you fund regularly.
- The neobanks are generally smoother than the traditional Sparkassen and Volksbanken for this particular use.
- Send from an account in your own name. Third-party transfers are rejected by every venue on this list, and reversing one is slow.
The German tax rule that changes strategy
Not tax advice — but worth knowing it exists
Germany treats crypto disposals under the private sale rules rather than as capital gains, and the holding period matters: assets held beyond a year have historically been exempt, while short-term disposals are taxed at your income rate. There is also a small annual exemption for short-term gains.
The consequence is that frequent trading and long-term holding are taxed on completely different footings in a way that has no equivalent in most of the EU. Rates, thresholds and the treatment of staking and lending have all moved in recent years, so confirm the current position with a Steuerberater before you build a strategy on it — but be aware the rule exists, because it changes what "optimal" means.
What German traders lose under MiCA
Two things, both worth planning around. USDT is not listable on a compliant EU platform, because Tether did not seek authorisation — you trade against euros or an authorised stablecoin. And derivatives require a separate MiFID II licence, which most MiCA-authorised venues do not hold, so the list of places a German resident can trade perpetuals is very short.
Opening an account
For spot and margin: Bybit EU is authorised in Austria and passported into Germany. For derivatives alongside spot: OKX Europe is one of very few venues holding both licences. Both links are referral links and pay this site a commission; it costs you nothing extra.
Whichever you pick, search the legal entity on the ESMA register before you deposit. It takes two minutes and it is the only check that actually proves anything.