What Is Bitstamp? Inside Crypto’s Longest-Running Exchange

Between the near-identical typos — bitsmap, butstamp — and the genuinely confusing keyword combinations like "bitstamp stock price" or "bitstamp share price," there's a fair amount of noise around a platform that's actually one of the more straightforward stories in crypto. Bitstamp isn't a coin, it doesn't trade on a public stock exchange under its own ticker, and it isn't new. It's the oldest cryptocurrency exchange still operating, and as of 2025, it belongs to a company most people already recognize.

What Is Bitstamp, Exactly?

Bitstamp is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in August 2011 in Slovenia by Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak, built originally as a European alternative to the dominant exchange of that era, Mt. Gox. It has the distinction of being the longest continuously operating crypto exchange in the world — it survived the Mt. Gox collapse, a 2015 hot-wallet hack, and several changes of ownership, and it was also the first exchange to implement multi-signature wallet security, back in 2011.

The platform today offers spot trading across 100–130+ cryptocurrencies, fiat on-ramps in USD, EUR, and GBP, staking through Bitstamp Earn, and — more recently — EU-regulated perpetual futures through its Financial Services arm. Reported user numbers sit around 4–5 million globally.

Which Country Is Bitstamp Based In — and Who Owns It Now?

Bitstamp's headquarters moved from its original Slovenia base to Luxembourg, with additional offices in London, New York, Singapore, and Ljubljana. It operates through several regulated entities: Bitstamp Europe S.A. in Luxembourg, Bitstamp Ltd. in the UK (FCA-authorized), and Bitstamp USA, Inc. in the US.

The bigger story for "bitstamp.net" searchers in 2026 is ownership. In June 2025, Robinhood Markets completed a $200 million all-cash acquisition of Bitstamp, making it a Robinhood subsidiary and branded in places as "Bitstamp by Robinhood." That's also the direct answer to the "bitstamp stock price" and "bitstamp share price" searches: Bitstamp itself has never been, and still isn't, a publicly traded company. There's no separate Bitstamp ticker or share price to look up. If you want market exposure to the business behind it, the relevant stock is Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) — Bitstamp is now a piece of that larger, publicly traded company, not a security of its own.

Bitstamp Fees: What You Actually Pay

Bitstamp runs a volume-based maker/taker model on its Pro interface, starting relatively high at the entry tier and dropping sharply as trading volume grows:

Fiat movement is where Bitstamp genuinely stands out: SEPA transfers are free, and crypto deposits carry no platform fee. The catch is the "Instant Buy" option on the simplified Basic interface — card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal purchases carry a flat 4% service fee, noticeably above the industry norm, which makes the Pro/Advanced trading view the far cheaper route for anyone trading more than occasionally.

Is Bitstamp Safe?

Bitstamp's clean long-term record is genuinely rare in this industry: aside from a 2015 breach of roughly 19,000 BTC from its hot wallet — handled transparently at the time, with operations resumed and no lasting customer losses — it has run for well over a decade without a major security incident. Today, the exchange stores roughly 95% of customer funds in offline cold storage, uses multi-signature architecture, and layers on mandatory two-factor authentication.

The one honest gap: Bitstamp does not currently publish a user-verifiable, on-chain Proof of Reserves the way several younger exchanges now do. Its security reputation rests more on regulatory oversight, banking-grade licensing, and a long operational track record than on cryptographic self-verification — a different kind of trust signal, not necessarily a weaker one, but worth knowing which one you're relying on.

As our author Wes Ibarra puts it: "Fourteen years without a major incident is the kind of track record you can't fake or buy. It's just not the same thing as being able to check the books yourself — Bitstamp asks you to trust the regulators watching it, not a Merkle tree."

Bitstamp vs. Coinbase: The Short Version

Both are heavily regulated, bank-rail-first exchanges aimed at compliance-conscious users rather than high-leverage traders:

How to Get Started on Bitstamp

• Register on bitstamp.net or the app with an email address
• Complete identity verification — required before trading or fiat withdrawal, standard for a fully regulated exchange
• Fund your account via SEPA/ACH bank transfer for free, or card/PayPal for speed at a 4% fee
• Use the Basic interface for simple buys, or switch to the Pro/Advanced view for the much lower maker/taker fee schedule
• Enable two-factor authentication before depositing any meaningful amount

Questions People Actually Ask About Bitstamp

Is Bitstamp still independent, or is it part of Robinhood now? As of June 2025, Bitstamp is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, though it continues operating under its own brand and regulated entities.

Is there a Bitstamp stock I can buy? No — Bitstamp has never been publicly traded. Exposure to its business now runs through Robinhood Markets' public stock (NASDAQ: HOOD).

Is Bitstamp available in the US? Yes, through Bitstamp USA, Inc., licensed under a New York BitLicense and registered with FinCEN.

Has Bitstamp ever been hacked? Once, in 2015, for roughly 19,000 BTC from a hot wallet — the exchange has run without a major breach since.

Why are Bitstamp's fees higher than some competitors at low volume? Its entry-tier maker/taker rates (0.30%/0.40%) sit above leaner exchanges, but fall sharply with volume, and its fiat rails (especially SEPA) are largely fee-free, which balances the cost profile for regular EU users.