Bitstamp Review

Our verdict: in our view, Bitstamp is a good choice if you want a long-running, licensed exchange with low entry-tier fees on its order book. It is a weaker choice if you want hundreds of coins. Bitstamp has been in operation since 2011 and has been owned by Robinhood Markets, Inc. since June 2025, trading as Bitstamp by Robinhood. US residents register with Bitstamp USA, Inc., which holds a New York BitLicense.

The order book offers entry-tier fees of 0.30% for maker orders and 0.40% for taker orders. Bitstamp's public market data lists 114 crypto assets, compared to more than 600 at Kraken and more than 400 at Coinbase.

Bitstamp suits you if:

• you live in a US state that Bitstamp serves, New York included, or in the EEA or the UK.
• you trade on the order book and want entry-tier fees of 0.30% maker and 0.40% taker.
• you want licenses or registrations in the US, the EU, the UK, and Singapore.

Bitstamp may not be ideal if:

• you live in Canada, where Bitstamp has not opened new accounts since March 24, 2023.
• you plan to buy by card, at 4% a purchase, or through Basic Trading with its 1.8% spread, rather than on the order book.

For active traders we rate Kraken higher; the alternatives below cover US readers who need more than spot trading.

Bitstamp at a glance

• Operator for US customers: Bitstamp USA, Inc. (Delaware, NMLS 1905429). Group parent: Bitstamp Ltd (England and Wales), owned by Robinhood Markets, Inc. since June 2025
• Founded: 2011. Status: active
• US availability: every state except Hawaii and Nevada, per Bitstamp's app and XRP FAQs, plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico
• Other regions: the EEA, the UK and Singapore, among others. No new accounts for residents of Canada
• Spot fees, entry tier: 0.30% maker, 0.40% taker
• Basic Trading: a 1.8% spread in the price, more when markets are volatile
• Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay purchases: 4%
• ACH deposits and withdrawals: free
• Crypto assets: 114 on 250 active spot pairs
• BTC withdrawal fee: varies, made of Bitstamp's network fee estimate and a processing fee it does not publish, shown before you confirm
• Proof of reserves: none that we could find

Bitstamp in the US

US residents open their account with Bitstamp USA, Inc., a Delaware company with its registered office in Menlo Park, California. According to Bitstamp's FAQ, its app is available in the US except for Hawaii and Nevada, and XRP trading is open to all US customers except residents of those two states. New York is covered as Bitstamp USA holds a BitLicense and a money transmitter license from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). It is also registered with FinCEN and lists money transmitter licenses from 38 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.

Differences for US customers:

• Spot trading only. Bitstamp does not offer staking, lending, or derivatives to US customers.
• Level 1 verification (name, address, phone, Social Security number, and an explanation of your activity) allows trading but not crypto withdrawals, with fiat deposits and withdrawals capped at $10,000 each over the account's lifetime. Level 2 requires an ID document, a liveness video, and a questionnaire, lifting the limits. In Arizona and New Mexico, Level 1 may not be available.
• Card purchases are available in most states and may require additional identity checks.

To compare Bitstamp with other exchanges that accept US residents, see our list of exchanges for US customers.

What Bitstamp costs: a worked example

Say you live in a US state Bitstamp serves and want to buy bitcoin with dollars, then move it to your own wallet:

• Fund the account using ACH: free.
• Buy with a limit order on the order book: 0.30% maker fee at the entry tier or 0.40% taker fee for a market order.
• Alternatively, buy through Basic Trading: a 1.8% spread is included in the price, plus a variable spread when markets are volatile.
• Or pay by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay: 4%, and your card issuer may add its own fees.
• Withdraw the bitcoin: Bitstamp's network fee estimate plus its own processing fee, displayed before you confirm. Crypto withdrawals require Level 2 verification.

ACH funding with a limit order is the least expensive option here: the 0.30% maker fee is less than a fifth of the 1.8% spread and less than a tenth of the 4% card fee. The 0.40% taker fee is half of Kraken Pro's 0.80% and below Coinbase Advanced's 0.90% for US customers.

Regulation and regulatory actions

In the EU, Bitstamp Europe S.A. in Luxembourg is authorized by the CSSF as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA; the EU register lists it from May 15, 2025, with all 30 EEA states as service countries. Derivatives are provided by Bitstamp Financial Services Ltd., a MiFID investment firm supervised by Slovenia's securities regulator ATVP. In the UK, Bitstamp UK Limited has been registered with the FCA as a cryptoasset firm since June 13, 2023 (firm reference number 978690), without access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS. Bitstamp Asia Pte Ltd holds a major payment institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Bitstamp Global Ltd is licensed by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the British Virgin Islands.

Two US state orders from 2020 involve Bitstamp Ltd serving customers without a state license. In Texas, Bitstamp Ltd paid a $120,708 administrative penalty under a Department of Banking consent order for unlicensed money transmission to Texas customers since 2012, without admitting or denying any violations. The order says Bitstamp took steps to move its Texas customers to Bitstamp USA. In Vermont, Bitstamp, Ltd. agreed to pay a $15,500 administrative penalty to the Department of Financial Regulation for virtual currency services to Vermont customers from 2012 to 2020 without a license. We consider both orders to be about licensing, not customer funds, and a license does not protect you from losses.

Security and proof of reserves

Bitstamp says it keeps the majority of crypto offline in cold storage and a small share in a multi-signature hot wallet, holds client assets apart from company funds, and that its custodians insure client assets held in cold wallets. It has ISO/IEC 27001 certification and SOC 2 Type 2 attestations and reports a Big Four firm has audited it annually since 2016. On the other hand, in the US, balances are not covered by the FDIC or SIPC, the UK entity offers no FSCS cover, and we found no proof-of-reserves report from Bitstamp, while Kraken publishes reserve snapshots.

Alternatives to Bitstamp

For margin or futures in the US: Kraken offers spot margin to eligible US clients and futures through Kraken Derivatives US, lists more than 600 crypto assets, and publishes proof of reserves. It does not serve New York and Maine, and Kraken Pro's entry tier costs more, at 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker. Read our Kraken review.

For lower spot fees: OKX serves US residents through OKX US, a separate company, at 0.20% maker and 0.35% taker for regular users, but not in New York. Read our OKX review.

For staking or for every US state: Coinbase accepts residents of every US state and offers staking in the US outside California, Maryland, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, at higher entry-tier fees of 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker for US customers. Read our Coinbase review, or compare more platforms in our lists of exchanges for day trading and exchanges for beginners.

FAQ

Is Bitstamp available in the US?

Yes, through Bitstamp USA, Inc., New York included, where it holds a BitLicense. Bitstamp's FAQ excludes Hawaii and Nevada from its app and from XRP trading. US customers get spot trading only, without staking, lending, or derivatives.

Is Bitstamp cheaper than Coinbase?

On the order book, yes: at the entry tier Bitstamp charges 0.30% maker and 0.40% taker, while Coinbase Advanced charges US customers 0.50% and 0.90%. Coinbase lists more crypto assets, more than 400 against 114.

Bitstamp or Kraken: which is better for trading?

In our view, Bitstamp suits spot traders: its entry-tier fees are lower than Kraken Pro's 0.40% and 0.80%, and it serves New York. Kraken suits you better for margin, futures, staking, or a larger coin list, and it publishes proof of reserves.

Is Bitstamp safe?

No exchange is without risk. Licenses or registrations in the US, the EU, the UK, and Singapore, cold storage for most crypto, and yearly Big Four audits work in Bitstamp's favor. No FDIC or SIPC cover and two state penalties from 2020 for serving customers without a license work against it.

What are Bitstamp's withdrawal fees?

Crypto withdrawals carry a variable fee: Bitstamp's estimate of the network fee plus its own processing fee, which it does not publish, shown before you confirm. ACH withdrawals are free, and international wire withdrawals cost 0.1% with a minimum of 25 USD.

How we checked this review

For this review we read Bitstamp's fee schedule, the terms of use of Bitstamp USA and Bitstamp Ltd, its license pages, FAQ, blog, and public market data, the EU register of crypto-asset service providers, the FCA register, the 2020 orders from Texas and Vermont, the app stores, and the alternatives' own pages. The Updated date shows when we last brought these facts up to date.