Finst Review

Finst is a Dutch cryptocurrency broker that promotes itself through low fees and prominent comparisons with competitors. Its published 0.15% trading fee is indeed low, and Finst says it does not add a markup to the spread.

That claim does not settle the full cost question. You can verify the 0.15% fee on the transaction record, but a retail user cannot reconstruct every external quote, route and source of liquidity for each order. Execution price, scale, public track record and transparency also matter. On balance, we still prefer Bitvavo in the European countries it supports.

Finst is a European platform, not a global exchange. It serves clients in a long list of European countries, including France and Spain, under its Dutch MiCA authorization. It does not offer futures, margin trading or a payment card.

Finst review summary

Finst launched in 2023 and was founded by Julien Vallet, Marcel Putina and Maria Gallo, all former DEGIRO employees. Its website reports more than 100,000 registered users, €5 billion in trading volume and 10 million executed trades. These are Finst’s own figures.

The platform has improved substantially since launch. It now lists 400+ cryptocurrencies and supports market, limit and stop loss orders, Auto Invest, Crypto Bundles, flexible staking and crypto deposits and withdrawals. It is available on desktop, tablet and mobile.

Regulation is a genuine strength. Finst B.V. has a MiCA authorization from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, the AFM, under number 41000015.

Our main criticism concerns its marketing. Finst names competitors on its own fee page and claims average savings of 93%. The comparison is produced by Finst itself, so it should not be treated as an independent market study. For a relatively small platform, we find this style more combative than convincing.

The 0.15% fee is competitive but not unbeatable in every situation. Bitvavo also starts at 0.15% for maker orders and becomes cheaper as trading volume rises. Finst additionally charges €2.50 plus the network fee for a crypto withdrawal and 0.10% of the bundle value every month for Crypto Bundles.

What is Finst?

Finst B.V. is an Amsterdam based crypto platform for buying, selling, swapping, holding, transferring and staking cryptocurrency. The company acquired strategic activities from Anycoin Direct in 2024 and invited users of that service to migrate to Finst.

Finst describes itself as a crypto exchange. Its execution model is different from a classic venue where customers trade directly with one another in a single public order book. The order execution policy says Finst may execute orders directly or transmit them to another provider. Venues can include trading platforms, market makers, liquidity providers and other crypto asset service providers.

The term broker therefore remains useful. What matters to a customer is that Finst selects the route and place of execution. See our explanation of a cryptocurrency exchange for the distinction.

Why we dislike Finst’s comparison marketing

Finst does more than advertise a low fee. It places named competitors at the centre of its own comparison. The current fee page combines publicly disclosed direct purchase fees as at 31 July 2026 with a spread measurement based on a €1,000 Bitcoin purchase.

Finst then uses its own calculation to claim average savings of 93%. The snapshot may contain useful information, but the company that designed the method also emerges as the winner. The selection of competitors, timing, order method and reference midpoint can all influence the result.

We are not impressed by this style of marketing. A young platform can explain why it believes its pricing is better, but a self produced comparison is not an independent test.

Finst also leans heavily on the founders’ former roles at DEGIRO. Their experience is relevant, but DEGIRO’s track record cannot simply be transferred to a different company and product.

MiCA authorization and company details

Finst B.V. is registered with the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce under number 85668117 and has its office at Herengracht 454, 1017 CA Amsterdam.

The AFM has authorized Finst as a crypto asset service provider under MiCA, number 41000015. This is a proper European crypto authorization and replaces the old reliance on a Dutch DNB registration under the previous national regime.

MiCA requires governance, capital, safeguarding and conduct arrangements, but it does not insure a customer against price losses, hacking or insolvency. Crypto held with Finst is not covered by a bank deposit guarantee.

Opening and using an account

Registration begins online, while identity verification is completed in the mobile app. Finst asks for an identity document, personal details and information required for customer due diligence. The desktop platform becomes available after registration.

A normal purchase follows these steps:

1. Create an account and confirm your email address.
2. Complete identity verification in the app.
3. Deposit euros through iDEAL, Bancontact or instant SEPA bank transfer.
4. Select a cryptocurrency.
5. Choose a market or limit order and enter the amount.
6. Check the amount of crypto, execution price and fee.
7. Confirm the order.

The early limitation that made the app mandatory for all use no longer applies. Once verified, customers can use Finst on desktop, tablet and mobile.

Order types and trading functions

Finst supports market, limit and stop loss orders. A limit order may be retained internally until its price is reached. In that situation it is not necessarily visible in an external order book and may not receive time priority there.

For a market order, Finst can request a quote or use a smart order router. Price, available liquidity and likelihood of execution are among the factors considered.

Auto Invest schedules recurring market orders through a randomized scheduler. These tools are sufficient for normal spot investing, but more active cryptocurrency trading is limited by the absence of margin, futures, options and a public professional order book.

Finst fees and the spread question

Since 23 July 2026, Finst has charged 0.15% for buying, selling, swapping and Auto Invest. The same rate applies to fiat to crypto and crypto to crypto pairs.

A €1,000 purchase therefore costs €1.50. Selling another €1,000 later costs a further €1.50. The simple round trip costs €3 before price movements and execution differences.

Finst says it does not add a spread. This does not mean that a market has no spread. There can still be a difference between the best bid and ask, and larger orders or less liquid coins may move through several price levels.

The visible 0.15% fee is easy to verify. Full execution quality is harder for an ordinary customer to audit because the customer does not see every external quote and route. Finst does retain execution records, and its policy allows a customer to make a reasonable written request for evidence that an order followed the policy.

The practical check is to compare how much crypto different platforms deliver for the same gross amount at roughly the same moment. Looking only at the advertised percentage is insufficient.

Other costs include:

• free euro deposits and withdrawals;
• free crypto deposits on Finst’s side;
• network fee plus €2.50 for a crypto withdrawal;
• 0.10% of the bundle value per month for Crypto Bundles;
• €50 plus the network fee for an attempted recovery after using the wrong network;
• no custody or inactivity fee.

Is Finst cheaper than Bitvavo?

Finst can be cheaper than Bitvavo for an immediately executed order. Finst charges 0.15%, while Bitvavo’s base taker fee is 0.25%.

Finst is not always the cheaper platform. Bitvavo also starts at 0.15% for maker orders and its fees fall at higher trading volumes. Bitvavo reports more than 2 million users, compared with the 100,000+ reported by Finst, and currently lists 453 assets.

We would not switch solely because of the 0.15% advertisement. Bitvavo has more scale, a longer track record, lower volume tiers and additional services such as Trading Power and a conditional Account Guarantee. Finst is a credible option for simple purchases, but it is not our first choice.

Euro and crypto transfers

EUR is the only supported fiat currency. iDEAL, Bancontact and instant SEPA bank transfers are free. Euro withdrawals are also free and are processed immediately by Finst, although the receiving bank can delay arrival.

Crypto deposits and withdrawals are available for a broad but incomplete selection. Some assets remain trading only, and Finst supports a specific network for each coin. Using the wrong network can cause permanent loss.

The Travel Rule means an external address must belong to the customer and may require a one time wallet verification. Current help pages are inconsistent about transfers to and from other exchanges, so check the address book before using a hosted cryptocurrency wallet.

Staking and Crypto Bundles

The staking page currently displays 15 assets and net APYs up to 10%. Rewards are calculated daily, paid weekly and automatically restaked. Finst advertises no minimum and no fixed lockup.

Staking is not economically free. Finst does not charge a separate euro fee, but retains 25% to 45% of the protocol reward. The APY displayed in the app is already net of this deduction and relevant third party charges.

Finst also states that its staking service is not currently covered by the MiCA rules applying to its regulated crypto services. Protocol and slashing risks remain, and the reward can change without notice.

Crypto Bundles spread an investment across a group of assets and rebalance monthly. Rebalancing trade fees are included, but the bundle costs 0.10% of its value per month. That is approximately 1.20% per year if the value stayed constant, which is a meaningful ongoing charge for a platform built around low fee messaging.

Security, custody and Proof of Reserves

The MiCA authorization, legal asset segregation and account controls are strong points. The custody policy says client money and crypto are held through Stichting Finst Custody. This separate legal entity owns the relevant bank accounts and wallets so client assets are kept apart from Finst B.V.

Finst identifies Fireblocks for MPC custody and bunq and ING for money holdings. Accounts use two factor authentication, device pairing, biometrics and a closed loop for euro withdrawals to a bank account in the customer’s name.

These measures reduce risk but do not eliminate it. Finst’s risk disclosure warns that failure, technical problems or a security breach at a third party custodian could cause a full loss. There is no personal crypto account insurance or bank deposit guarantee.

The Proof of Reserves is outdated

Finst published a Proof of Reserves report from AuditNow in August 2023. It covered client liabilities, reserves, the separate custody foundation and procedures governing access to assets.

Finst said the review would be renewed regularly. Its current page still identifies August 2023 as the latest report. A three year old snapshot is not current evidence of reserves in 2026 and is not a complete financial statement audit.

Publishing the original report was positive, but the current update frequency does not support the strength of Finst’s transparency marketing.

Customer support and user experience

Support is available on weekdays from 09:00 to 18:00 CET through live chat, email and telephone. Telephone support is useful because many crypto exchanges do not offer it.

Our earlier test received a substantive reply within an hour. That was positive, but one contact does not show how support performs during market stress. External review scores also change continuously. Look for recurring themes around verification, withdrawals and availability rather than relying on one number.

Company information

• Finst B.V.
• Herengracht 454, 1017 CA Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• Chamber of Commerce: 85668117
• MiCA authorization: AFM 41000015
• Client custody entity: Stichting Finst Custody
• Email: support@finst.com
• Telephone: +31 (0)20 241 71 61

Conclusion of our Finst review

Finst is significantly more mature than it was at launch. It now has a MiCA authorization, 400+ cryptocurrencies, three important order types, crypto transfers, staking, Auto Invest and a functional desktop platform. The flat 0.15% fee is low.

We remain less enthusiastic than Finst’s own marketing. Its competitor comparison is self produced, the 0.15% fee does not tell the whole execution story, Crypto Bundles cost about 1.20% per year at a constant value and the latest published Proof of Reserves still dates from 2023.

Finst can be economical for a simple purchase. We nevertheless prefer Bitvavo because of its greater scale, longer track record, lower fees at higher volumes and broader overall package.

Our rating is 3.6 out of 5. The MiCA authorization and low visible fee earn points, but the small scale, marketing style and outdated Proof of Reserves keep Finst below the European leaders.