EU CRYPTO DERIVATIVES CHECK
Can you legally trade crypto derivatives in Europe?
Crypto perpetuals, futures and CFDs fall under MiFID II, not MiCA. Only firms with a MiFID II authorisation can legally offer derivatives to EEA residents. Six venues hold the licence today.
The register at a glance: who holds the MiFID II licence?
Every venue we track, in one scannable table. Status comes from the home-state regulator's register; venues without the required authorisation are listed just as plainly as those with it.
| Venue | MiFID II status | Regulator | Licensed entity | Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitpanda | Authorised | Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) | Bitpanda Financial Services GmbH | Contracts for Difference (CFDs) on crypto assets, marketed by Bitpanda as Bitpanda Leverag |
| Bitstamp | Authorised | Slovenian Securities Market Agency (Agencija za trg vrednostnih papirjev, ATVP) | Bitstamp Financial Services Ltd. (Slovenian: Bitstamp finančne storitve d.o.o.) | Crypto derivatives including perpetual swaps, traded on the Slovenian MTF. Per Bitstamp's |
| Coinbase | Authorised | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Coinbase Financial Services Europe Ltd. | Crypto futures (BTC, ETH), Magnificent Seven equity-linked futures, and Crypto Equity Inde |
| Crypto.com | Authorised | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Foris Capital CY Ltd (formerly A.N. Allnew Investments Ltd, approved trade name 'Crypto.com') | All 10 MiFID Annex I Section C instrument categories per CySEC public register. Crypto.com |
| Kraken | Authorised | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited | Crypto-asset perpetual contracts (USD-margined and crypto-collateralised) and fixed-maturi |
| OKX | Authorised | Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) | OKX Europe Markets Limited | Crypto-asset based expiry futures (marketed as X-Perps - 5-year expiry, up to 10x leverage |
| Bybit | Application pending | Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) | - | - |
| Bitunix | Not in register | - | - | - |
| Bitvavo | Not in register | - | - | - |
| Coinmerce | Not in register | - | - | - |
How the MiFID II check works
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1
Type your broker
Pick from the five major crypto-derivative venues we track in the EU.
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2
See the answer
Green means the broker holds a MiFID II authorisation. Yellow means an application is pending. Red means no authorisation today.
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3
Open the firm's profile
Each authorised venue (OKX, Kraken, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Bitstamp, Bitpanda) has a profile page with the same primary-source treatment: licensed entity, regulator, product structure, and whether the retail product is verified live.
What is MiFID II and why does it apply to crypto derivatives?
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MiCA covers crypto-assets
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 covers spot crypto trading, custody, fiat conversion and the other crypto-asset services in Article 3(1)(16). It does NOT cover derivatives.
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MiFID II covers derivatives
Directive 2014/65/EU regulates financial instruments, including derivatives referencing any underlying. Crypto futures, options, CFDs and perpetuals fall under MiFID II.
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An exchange may hold both
Some exchanges hold a MiCA authorisation (for spot) AND a MiFID II authorisation (for derivatives) via separate legal entities. Six firms in our register currently hold both: OKX (Malta + Malta), Kraken (Ireland + Cyprus), Coinbase (Luxembourg + Cyprus), Crypto.com (Malta + Cyprus), Bitstamp (Luxembourg + Slovenia) and Bitpanda (Austria + Austria).
Full methodology →