Can I Buy Bitcoin with Trade Republic?
Yes, and the offering has grown well past its buy-and-hold origins. Open the Trade Republic app, search for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) or any of the roughly 50 listed coins, tap Buy, enter a euro amount, review the quote and confirm. Crypto savings plans work the same way as share plans, so you can automate a weekly or monthly purchase from as little as 1 EUR.
The regulatory footing is stronger than most banks can claim. Trade Republic Bank GmbH holds a full German banking licence and was among the first banks in Europe granted a crypto licence under MiCA, the EU framework that governs crypto services, authorised by BaFin and passported across the EEA. Coins sit in cold storage, meaning offline custody, with BitGo Europe GmbH.
The Crypto Wallet launched in November 2025 removed the platform's longest-standing limitation. You can now send and receive around 50 coins, and Trade Republic charges nothing for transfers beyond the blockchain's own network fee. You still do not get exchange-grade trading, since every order executes at market with no limit or stop option.
Trade Republic Crypto Fees and Limits
Trade Republic markets crypto trading as commission-free, and the real cost has three parts.
- External settlement charge: Every buy or sell carries a 1 EUR fee covering third party execution and settlement. On a 50 EUR savings plan purchase that is 2% before the spread, while on a 5,000 EUR order it fades to noise.
- Spread: You buy at the ask and sell at the bid, and the gap between the two is variable rather than published. During calm European trading hours we have seen BTC quotes sit tight, then widen sharply around US data releases and weekend illiquidity. Check both quotes before confirming, because the difference is your true cost.
- Market orders only: You cannot set a limit, so each trade fills at the next available price, which in a volatile minute can land away from the price you saw when you tapped.
- Transfers and staking: Transfers cost the network fee only. Staking rewards arrive weekly with a service fee deducted before payout, shown in the in-app terms.
If the app quotes ETH at 2,310 EUR to buy and 2,290 EUR to sell, the midpoint is 2,300 EUR and each side of the trade costs about 0.43%, so buying and later selling 1,000 EUR of ETH runs to roughly 8.70 EUR in spread plus 2 EUR in settlement charges.
Trade Republic settles tax automatically on share and ETF gains for German customers, but crypto gains are private sales you declare yourself. Under §23 EStG, coins held longer than a year are tax-exempt, and shorter holds stay tax-free below the 1,000 EUR annual threshold. Paying with crypto through the card counts as a sale, so the 2% Saveback perk creates taxable disposals with every coffee.
How to Buy Crypto with a Trade Republic Alternative
When we want tighter pricing or an asset that Trade Republic does not list, we send euros from the account to Kraken and trade there. Kraken operates across the EEA under its own MiCA authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland, lists 500+ assets against Trade Republic's roughly 50, and Kraken Pro charges 0.25% maker and 0.40% taker at the entry tier, falling with volume.
Steps to fund Kraken from Trade Republic:
- Create an account: Sign up on Kraken and complete identity verification with your passport or national ID card.
- Copy the EUR deposit details: In Kraken, open Deposit, choose EUR, then SEPA, and note the IBAN, the beneficiary name and the deposit reference.
- Send from the Trade Republic app: Use the cash transfer screen, paste the beneficiary name exactly as Kraken displays it, and include the reference. Since October 2025 EU banks run a payee name check against the IBAN before release, and an abbreviated name triggers a mismatch warning.
- Trade on Kraken Pro: SEPA Instant deposits usually credit within minutes. Place a limit order for maker pricing, or a market order when speed matters more than the last fraction of a percent.
Since the Crypto Wallet launch you can also buy on Trade Republic and transfer the coins themselves to Kraken or a self-custody wallet, which suits anyone consolidating a balance without selling and rebuying.
Does Trade Republic Offer Staking?
Yes, staking went live alongside the Crypto Wallet. Ethereum and Solana headline the list, and rewards arrive weekly in the staked coin, visible in real time in the app.
Staking means locking coins so the network can use them to verify transactions, and it costs more than the headline yield suggests. Trade Republic deducts a service fee from rewards before they reach you, and staked coins cannot be sold or transferred until you unstake and any network exit period ends. Yields move with network conditions, so treat the advertised figure as an estimate.
For a German taxpayer the rewards are income in the year received, separate from the one-year holding clock on the staked coins themselves. Keep the in-app statements, because weekly payouts add up to a long list by year end.
Best Alternative Exchanges for Trade Republic Users
Trade Republic covers the basics well, and a dedicated exchange still wins on pricing, order types and depth of assets. Every platform below holds a MiCA authorisation, accepts SEPA from a Trade Republic IBAN, and supports on-chain withdrawals. Our guide to the best MiCA-licensed crypto exchanges compares the wider field.
About Trade Republic
Trade Republic is a Berlin-based bank and investment platform serving more than 10 million customers across 17 European markets, with over 100 billion EUR in assets. One app and one IBAN cover shares, ETFs, bonds, derivatives, crypto and everyday banking, with uninvested cash earning interest and a debit card that pays Saveback into a savings plan.
The crypto side has moved fastest of any German bank aimed at private customers. While Deutsche Bank still offers no in-app coin purchase and N26 charges 1.5% to 2.5% per crypto trade, Trade Republic pairs a banking licence with a MiCA crypto authorisation, in-app purchases, transfers and staking in a single app.
Our best crypto exchanges in Germany guide shows how the dedicated venues compare.
Final Thoughts
Trade Republic has closed most of the gaps that used to make it a poor place to hold crypto. The Crypto Wallet means coins you buy are yours to move, custody is regulated and cold, and the 2% Saveback makes spending coins mildly rewarding rather than a tax headache.
Pricing is the remaining weakness. A 1 EUR settlement charge plus a variable spread on market-only orders is fine for a monthly savings plan and expensive for active trading, and the coin list stops at around 50.
Our approach splits the difference. Keep Trade Republic for automated euro-cost-averaging into BTC and ETH, and send SEPA Instant transfers to Kraken whenever you want limit orders, deeper markets or one of the several hundred assets the app does not list.
