Bitonic: licences, security, fees and reviews
Centralized exchange
In short
- Legal entity
- Bitonic B.V., Hoogte Kadijk 143F 8, 1018 BH Amsterdam
- Fees
- Spot taker: 1.0% per buy or sell in the app or account (may be lower for high volume)
- Risks and caveats
- Bitonic is custodial: customer bitcoin is held by Bitonic's foundation unless withdrawn to a personal wallet.
- Checked
- 31 October 2026
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Key facts
- Type
- Centralized exchange
- Exchange launched
- 2012
- Country of registration
- Netherlands
- Operator
- Bitonic B.V.
- Official site
- bitonic.nl
Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources and regulator registers.
What is Bitonic
Bitonic is a Dutch bitcoin-only broker, founded on 1 May 2012, where customers buy, sell and store bitcoin in an app or on the web, with automatic purchases and an OTC desk. Bitonic B.V. holds a MiCA licence from the Dutch AFM, granted on 21 November 2025.
Good to know
- Bitonic trades only bitcoin; it does not list other coins. ↗
- Customer euros and bitcoin are held in a separate foundation, Stichting Bitonic Payments, apart from Bitonic B.V. ↗
- Bitonic's own exchange platform BL3P closed on 20 December 2024; former BL3P users log in at Bitonic. ↗
- In October 2026 attackers took over five accounts through a flaw in a PDF upload function; 0.003 BTC was taken from three and reimbursed. ↗
Services
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Spot trading | Buy and sell bitcoin against euro in the app and on the web, with target orders |
| Custody / wallet | Stores customers' bitcoin 1:1, mostly in multisig cold storage |
| OTC | Trading desk for large amounts from €200,000 |
| Staking / Earn | Auto Invest: recurring automatic bitcoin purchases |
Licences and registrations
| Jurisdiction | Entity | Licence / registration | Regulator |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | Bitonic B.V. | MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorisation (Article 63), granted 21 November 2025; custody, exchange for funds, order execution and transfer services, passported to 30 EEA states | Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) |
Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM)Security and audits
- Most customer bitcoin is kept in multi-signature cold storage; holdings are 1:1.
- Customer funds sit in a separate foundation, apart from company finances.
- Bitcoin is held 1-to-1 and Bitonic runs its own infrastructure with data stored on servers in the Netherlands.
Security incidents
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| March 2021 | Outage: A DDoS attack made Bitonic's services unreachable for a substantial time, so buying and selling via bitonic.nl was not possible (notice published 30 March 2021). | bitonic.nl |
| 21 September 2025 | Outage: Failure of a storage node at Bitonic's main datacentre made the website and app unavailable from 06:35 to about 20:00 CEST; trading and withdrawals were not possible during that time. Bitonic says no funds were at risk. | bitonic.nl |
| 25 October 2026 | Hack: Attackers used a flaw in the PDF upload function of Bitonic's verification system to reach the system holding login credentials and took over five accounts; 0.003 BTC (about €200) was withdrawn from three of them. Bitonic took services and its hot wallet offline, fixed the flaw and restored service at 05:00 the next morning; cold wallets were not involved. Bitonic informed the AFM and the Dutch Data Protection Authority. Funds returned: Bitonic says it fully reimbursed the affected customers the same night. | bitonic.nl |
Fees
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Spot taker | 1.0% per buy or sell in the app or account (may be lower for high volume) |
| Deposits | Free via iDEAL/Wero, manual SEPA and bitcoin; 0.5% via Bancontact or Easy SEPA |
| Withdrawals | Euro free; bitcoin pays a dynamic network fee |
Who can use it
- MiCA services are passported to the Netherlands and 29 other EEA states.
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 May 2012 | Bitonic is founded, the first bitcoin company in the Netherlands. |
| January 2014 | Bitonic announces its European exchange platform, codenamed BL3P, open to private parties first. |
| 2020 | Bitonic is registered with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) as a crypto service provider. |
| 20 December 2024 | The BL3P trading platform closes; users move to Bitonic. |
| 21 November 2025 | Bitonic receives a MiCA licence from the Dutch AFM. |
| 25 October 2026 | A security incident: five accounts are taken over and 0.003 BTC is taken from three, then reimbursed. |
Risks and caveats
- Bitonic is custodial: customer bitcoin is held by Bitonic's foundation unless withdrawn to a personal wallet.
- In October 2026 attackers took over five customer accounts; Bitonic could not yet fully rule out that other personal data was viewed.
- A storage failure on 21 September 2025 stopped trading and withdrawals for most of a day.
About the company
- Legal entity
- Bitonic B.V., Hoogte Kadijk 143F 8, 1018 BH Amsterdam
- Founded
- 1 May 2012
- Founders
- Jouke, Niels and Robert (first names as given by Bitonic)
- Headquarters
- Amsterdam, Netherlands; Chamber of Commerce no. 58276149
Official links
- Website: bitonic.nl/en
- Fees: bitonic.nl/en/pricing
- Security: bitonic.nl/en/security
- Terms of use: bitonic.nl/en/legal
- Blog: bitonic.nl/en/news
Questions and answers
Is Bitonic regulated?
Yes. Bitonic B.V. holds a MiCA crypto-asset service provider licence from the Dutch AFM, granted on 21 November 2025.
What are Bitonic's fees?
Buying or selling in the app or account costs 1.0%; iDEAL deposits and euro withdrawals are free, bitcoin withdrawals pay a network fee.
Was Bitonic hacked?
On 25 October 2026 attackers took over five accounts via a PDF upload flaw; 0.003 BTC was taken from three and fully reimbursed. Cold wallets were not involved.
What happened to BL3P?
Bitonic closed its BL3P trading platform on 20 December 2024; former users log in at Bitonic.
Sources
- Bitonic — home page
- Bitonic — About
- Bitonic — Security
- Bitonic — Pricing
- Bitonic — MiCAR licence news (21 November 2025)
- Bitonic — Security incident (update), 26 October 2026
- Bitonic — Post mortem on the outage (23 September 2025)
- Bitonic — DDoS attack and downtime website (30 March 2021)
- Bitonic — Bitonic starts with Bitcoin exchange (21 January 2014)
- Bitonic — BL3P permanently offline (28 April 2026)
- ESMA — interim MiCA register of CASPs (CSV)
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