Belgium crypto restrictions and exchange access

Is crypto legal in Belgium?

Yes. Belgian residents may buy, hold and trade crypto; what Belgium regulates is who may serve them. Since MiCA took over in 2026, a provider needs an authorisation from the FSMA or from another EU country.

The FSMA says on its CASP page that the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) was implemented in Belgium by the Law of 11 December 2025. The FSMA is the competent authority for crypto-asset service providers, and the National Bank of Belgium handles prudential supervision of firms it already oversees, such as banks and payment institutions.

Before MiCA Belgium ran its own registration. A Royal Decree of 8 February 2022 required exchanges and custodian wallet providers established in Belgium to register with the FSMA from 1 May 2022. The FSMA says it granted no registrations under those national rules, so there was no register to carry over into MiCA.

Belgium used the full 18-month grace period for firms already active before 30 December 2024. The FSMA’s release of 25 June 2026 told providers that 30 June 2026 was the last day, and that from 1 July 2026 an authorisation is required. ESMA had confirmed in April 2026 that the last transitional periods across the EU end on 1 July 2026.

Advertising is regulated too. An FSMA regulation of 5 January 2023 has applied since 17 May 2023: mass-media crypto campaigns must be notified to the FSMA ahead of time, and silence from the FSMA is not approval.

Which crypto exchanges work in Belgium?

Seven of the exchanges we track serve Belgian users under a MiCA licence from another EU country: Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, Bitstamp, Bybit, Crypto.com and Gate. Four are fully available; Bybit, Crypto.com and Gate are limited because they offer no derivatives here.

None of the seven is licensed by the FSMA. The FSMA’s own list of authorised providers names no firm and points to ESMA’s register, and its 25 June 2026 release says no crypto-asset service provider held an FSMA authorisation at that date. Each exchange below instead holds a licence from another EU regulator and serves Belgium on an EU passport, so the chart groups them by the regulator that granted it. The register is ESMA’s interim MiCA list.

A firm that appears on neither the FSMA list nor ESMA’s register is not licensed to serve Belgian residents. The FSMA keeps a warning list for those that try: its warning of 6 July 2026 named six unauthorised providers, none of them platforms we track.

Best crypto platforms for Belgian residents

By our access score, Bitstamp (8.0 out of 10) is the most open exchange for Belgian users, ahead of Coinbase, Kraken and OKX (each 7.5), and Jupiter, Lighter, PancakeSwap and Uniswap (each 8.0) are the most open DeFi platforms.

The score rates how fully a Belgian resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is computed from our data and moves when a row changes: access status (4 points), the share of the platform’s products open here (3), the licences we hold on file for Belgium (2) and what our geo-access test saw from a Belgian address (1). Nobody scores the top mark, because every exchange here serves Belgium on an EU passport and none holds a licence booked to it. Platforms that refuse Belgian users are not scored. The full method is on our methodology page.

Exchanges

1. 01

   Bitstamp

   Best for Spot trading from a long-running EU licence

   8.0/10

   Access

   4/4

   Products

   3/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   1/1

   Pros

   • Bitstamp Europe S.A. holds a CSSF MiCA licence from 15 May 2025
   • Our test loaded its pages with no barrier

   Cons

   • No Belgian entity: served from Luxembourg
   Read our Bitstamp report
2. 02

   Coinbase

   Best for A MiCA-licensed exchange with the widest reach

   7.5/10

   Access

   4/4

   Products

   3/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   0.5/1

   Pros

   • Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. holds a CSSF MiCA licence passported across the EEA
   • Our test loaded sign-up from a Belgian address with no barrier

   Cons

   • No Belgian entity: served from Luxembourg
   • Its home page hides stocks and prediction markets from Belgium
   Read our Coinbase report
3. 03

   Kraken

   Best for Spot trading under an Irish MiCA licence

   7.5/10

   Access

   4/4

   Products

   3/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   0.5/1

   Pros

   • MiCA licence from the Central Bank of Ireland, passported to all 30 EEA countries
   • Sign-up loaded with no barrier in our test

   Cons

   • Served from Ireland, not by a Belgian entity
   • Its page shows the legally required Belgian risk notice
   Read our Kraken report
4. 04

   OKX

   Best for A global brand with a local EU site

   7.5/10

   Access

   4/4

   Products

   3/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   0.5/1

   Pros

   • OKX Europe Limited holds an MFSA MiCA licence from 27 January 2025
   • Our test sent Belgian sign-ups to OKX Europe

   Cons

   • Served from Malta, not by a Belgian entity
   Read our OKX report
5. 05

   Bybit

   Best for Spot trading only

   6.9/10

   Access

   3.5/4

   Products

   2.4/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   1/1

   Pros

   • Spot is served by Bybit EU GmbH under an Austrian MiCA licence
   • Our test loaded sign-up with no barrier

   Cons

   • Bybit EU offers no derivatives
   • EEA access to Bybit Global, which does, is being wound down
   Read our Bybit report
6. 06

   Crypto.com

   Best for Spot trading in an app

   6.3/10

   Access

   3.5/4

   Products

   1.8/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   1/1

   Pros

   • Foris DAX MT Limited holds a Malta MiCA licence from 27 January 2025
   • Spot trading and the app are offered

   Cons

   • Derivatives are on its geo-restrictions list for Belgium
   Read our Crypto.com report
7. 07

   Gate

   Best for Spot trading on a licensed EU arm

   5.5/10

   Access

   3.5/4

   Products

   1.5/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   0.5/1

   Pros

   • Gate Technology Ltd holds a Maltese MiCA licence
   • Spot trading is open to Belgian users

   Cons

   • No derivatives: global Gate stopped taking EEA users in March 2025
   • Our test showed an EU-region notice at sign-up
   Read our Gate report

DeFi

1. 01

   Jupiter

   Best for Solana swaps

   8.0/10

   Access

   4/4

   Products

   3/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   1/1

   Pros

   • Belgium is not in its terms
   • Its app loaded in our test

   Cons

   • No licence on file for Belgium
   Read our Jupiter report
2. 02

   Lighter

   Best for Perpetual futures from your own wallet

   8.0/10

   Access

   4/4

   Products

   3/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   1/1

   Pros

   • Belgium is not named in its terms
   • The trading app loaded in our test

   Cons

   • No licence on file for Belgium
   Read our Lighter report
3. 03

   PancakeSwap

   Best for BNB Chain swaps and pools

   8.0/10

   Access

   4/4

   Products

   3/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   1/1

   Pros

   • Not excluded by its terms
   • The swap page loaded in our test

   Cons

   • No licence on file for Belgium
   Read our PancakeSwap report
4. 04

   Uniswap

   Best for Swapping tokens from your own wallet

   8.0/10

   Access

   4/4

   Products

   3/3

   Licences

   0/2

   Our test

   1/1

   Pros

   • Its terms bar only places under comprehensive US sanctions
   • Our test loaded the swap app from a Belgian address

   Cons

   • No licence on file for Belgium
   Read our Uniswap report

Which platforms block Belgian users?

Four of the 22 platforms we track refuse Belgian users: Gemini, HTX, Kalshi and Polymarket. Ten more are limited, most of them because they have no working MiCA licence.

Gemini closed every UK and EEA account on 6 April 2026. HTX’s user agreement bars every EU state, and EU sanctions on Russia-linked providers ban dealings with it from 23 August 2026 under Regulation (EU) 2026/1848. Polymarket and Kalshi are prediction markets and are covered in that section.

Binance has the longest history here. On 23 June 2023 the FSMA ordered it to stop immediately all exchange and custody wallet services in Belgium, because non-EEA firms may not offer them. The FSMA said 19 of the 27 Binance operators it identified appear to sit outside the EEA, and that Binance did not dispute offering the services. We found no later FSMA statement on Binance. Binance has since told EU users it will stop serving them after failing to secure a MiCA licence, as Euronews reported on 25 June 2026, so we list it as limited: new sign-ups, deposits and trading are closed and existing users can withdraw.

KuCoin EU has had trading and deposits suspended since 4 February 2026. Bitget EU applied to the Austrian regulator for authorisation on 2 July 2026 and will serve the EU only once it has one. MEXC and Bitfinex have no company on ESMA’s register of authorised providers.

Platform	Status	Type	What we found
Gemini	Restricted	Exchange	Closed every UK and EEA account on 6 April 2026; its sign-up page refused us from Belgium
HTX	Restricted	Exchange	Its user agreement bars all EU states, and EU sanctions ban dealings with HTX from 23 August 2026
Polymarket	Restricted	Prediction market	Close-only: existing positions can be closed but no new ones opened; its location check answered blocked
Kalshi	Restricted	Prediction market	Belgium is on its restricted list and its sign-up page said prediction markets are not available
Binance	Limited	Exchange	No MiCA authorisation since 1 July 2026: new accounts closed, existing users can withdraw; the FSMA ordered it to stop in 2023
KuCoin	Limited	Exchange	KuCoin EU has had trading and deposits suspended since 4 February 2026; our test showed a prompt to switch to KuCoin EU
Bitget	Limited	Exchange	No MiCA licence: Bitget EU applied to the Austrian FMA on 2 July 2026
MEXC	Limited	Exchange	No MiCA licence and not authorised in the EEA
Bitfinex	Limited	Exchange	No Bitfinex company is on ESMA’s register, yet sign-up stays open

Source: platform terms and notices, FSMA, ESMA, EU Official Journal, Euronews, verified 17 October 2026. What each site showed us is in the next section.

What our geo-access test saw from Belgium

From a Belgian address on 14 and 16 October 2026 we loaded all 22 platforms we track: 2 refused us, 6 showed a notice and 14 loaded with no barrier.

An open page is not permission. HTX, Binance, Bitget, MEXC and Bitfinex all loaded their sign-up pages although none of them has a MiCA licence and HTX’s terms bar the EU. The two refusals were Gemini (“Gemini does not currently operate in Belgium”) and Polymarket, whose geoblock check answered blocked. Kalshi said prediction markets are not available, OKX sent us to its European site, KuCoin suggested its EU site, Gate showed an EU-region pop-up and Coinbase hid stocks and prediction markets. Kraken’s page carried Belgium’s legally required notice, “Virtual currencies, real risks.” Swipe through the screenshots below; each card quotes the message the page showed.

BlockedGemini · Sign-up page

Belgium, one of the EEA countries Gemini left, gets the same refusal

“Gemini does not currently operate in Belgium.”

16 Oct 2026 · HTTP 200

BlockedPolymarket · Home page

Belgium, on Polymarket's own list: the markets load, but its location check answered blocked, with no message on screen

14 Oct 2026 · HTTP 200 · Polymarket located us in Belgium

Notice shownCoinbase · Home page

Belgium: Coinbase serves it, but hides stocks and prediction markets

“Stocks and prediction markets not available in your jurisdiction.”

14 Oct 2026 · HTTP 200

Notice shownGate · Sign-up page

Belgium got the EU-region pop-up and a pointer to Gate EU

“It seems that you're accessing our website from the EU region.”

16 Oct 2026 · HTTP 200

Notice shownKalshi · Sign-up page

Belgium, on Kalshi's restricted list: the sign-up page says prediction markets are not available

“Prediction markets are not available.”

16 Oct 2026 · HTTP 429

Notice shownKraken · Home page

Belgium's legally required risk notice, the only other message we saw

“Required Legal Notice: Virtual currencies, real risks.”

14 Oct 2026 · HTTP 200

Notice shownKuCoin · Home page

Belgium: a prompt to switch to the KuCoin EU site

“recommend switching to the KuCoin EU site for the best experience”

14 Oct 2026 · HTTP 200

Notice shownOKX · Sign-up page

Belgium: sign-up is served by OKX Europe

“Sign Up On OKX's Website | OKX Europe”

14 Oct 2026 · HTTP 200

No barrierBinance · Sign-up page

Belgium: the sign-up page loads with no barrier, although Binance has no MiCA authorisation

14 Oct 2026 · HTTP 202 · Binance located us in Belgium

CRYPTORESTRICTIONS

Who regulates crypto in Belgium?

The FSMA licenses crypto firms and supervises how they sell. The National Bank of Belgium handles prudential supervision of firms it already oversees, the Gaming Commission polices gambling and the tax office taxes crypto and receives exchange reports under the EU’s DAC8 rules.

• FSMA. The Financial Services and Markets Authority authorises crypto-asset service providers, supervises their conduct, and handles white papers and market abuse. It sets the advertising rules and publishes warnings about unauthorised firms.
• National Bank of Belgium. The NBB supervises prudential compliance of crypto firms that are already under its supervision, such as credit and payment institutions.
• Gaming Commission. The Belgian gambling regulator joined a European statement on prediction markets, covered below.
• Tax office. The federal finance ministry (SPF Finances) taxes crypto income and gains and, under the Belgian DAC8 law, collects crypto-asset reports from providers.

Which crypto products are limited in Belgium?

Spot trading is the open product. Derivatives are the narrowest: Bybit EU, Crypto.com and Gate offer none to Belgian users here, and prediction-market products are shut on every tracked platform that offers them.

• Derivatives. Crypto.com lists Belgium among the places where derivatives are restricted, Gate EU offers none, and Bybit EU has none while EEA access to Bybit Global is being wound down. Aster and Hyperliquid’s perpetuals loaded in our test.
• Prediction markets. Aster and Hyperliquid, which both run prediction or outcome markets, keep them closed to Belgium.

Are prediction markets legal in Belgium?

Not without a gambling licence. The Gaming Commission joined eight European regulators on 18 June 2026 in saying prediction markets comply with no national regulations, and press reports say it blacklisted Polymarket in 2025.

The Gaming Commission’s joint statement of 18 June 2026, signed with regulators from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, says prediction markets “do not comply with any national regulations” and offer no consumer protection.

Press reports, such as Payment Expert, say the Commission added Polymarket to its blacklist of illegal gambling sites from 30 January 2025 after warnings in late 2024 under the Gambling Act, and asked for access to be blocked. We could not read the Commission’s own blacklist page, so treat that date as reported, not confirmed. Polymarket is restricted for Belgium in our data: close-only, with no new positions. Kalshi, Aster and Hyperliquid keep their prediction products closed to Belgium too.

How is crypto taxed in Belgium?

It depends on how you hold it. Gains under normal management of private assets face a new 10% tax from 2026 above EUR 10,000 a year, speculative trading is taxed at 33% plus municipal tax, and professional activity at progressive rates up to 50%.

Until 2026, selling crypto you managed as a private person in the normal way was untaxed in Belgium. A law of 6 April 2026, published in the Moniteur belge in April, introduced a tax on capital gains on financial assets and adds crypto-assets to them, applying from 1 January 2026. Belgian tax advisers Jubel put it at 10% with no municipal tax, with the first EUR 10,000 of gains each year exempt, indexed for income year 2026. Costs are not deductible, and a loss can only be offset within the same year.

The older rules stay beside it. If the tax office treats your activity as speculative, the gain is miscellaneous income at a flat 33% plus municipal tax, costs are deductible and losses carry forward for up to five years. Professional activity, such as intensive mining, is taxed at progressive income tax rates reaching 50% on the top slice. Staking rewards count as movable income with 30% withholding. The finance minister has said the 33% rate applies only in exceptional cases, several factors must combine and the administration bears the burden of proof. The factors include how you acquired the crypto, how long you hold it, how often you trade, automated tools or loans, and the share of your wealth in crypto.

Reporting is widening. Belgium’s DAC8 law, reported as published on 1 April 2026, makes crypto-asset service providers collect customer data from 1 January 2026 and report it in 2027, so the tax office will see exchange activity directly.

Step	Detail
Decide how you hold it	Buy-and-hold with occasional sales is normal management; frequent, leveraged or automated trading risks the speculative 33% rate
Add up the year’s gains	Sum realised gains for 2026 only; gains before 2026 are not taxed, costs are not deductible and losses offset only within the year
Apply the exemption	The first EUR 10,000 of gains in a year is exempt under the 10% tax
Declare it in your return	Providers will report your activity from 2027, so declare gains and staking income in the return for the income year

Source: Moniteur belge, Jubel (21 July 2026), checked 18 October 2026.