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Bitcoin in Europe: 49 country guides

Legal in
48 of 49
Restricted or banned
1
Exchanges ranked
10
Rails listed
19
Last reviewed
2026-09-07

Bitcoin is legal in 48 of the 49 countries in Europe we cover, restricted in 1. 1 guide is written legality first and recommends no exchange. Kraken is ranked in 46 of the 49, more than any other exchange. Credit or debit card is a listed payment rail in 48 of the 49. Each guide ranks its own roster on published fees, security record and local payment support, so the tables below count guides rather than restate any one of them.

The 49 country guides in Europe

Each card shows the guide's legal status, how many exchanges it ranks, and the payment rail locals lead with. A legality-first guide recommends nothing and says so.

Central Europe5

Eastern Europe4

Northern Europe13

Southeastern Europe8

Southern Europe9

Western Europe9

Elsewhere in Europe1

Exchanges ranked across Europe

Ordered by how many of the 49 guides rank each platform. A wide reach is a fact about availability, not a recommendation; the guide for your own country is where the ranking lives.

Exchanges ranked in at least one country guide in Europe, ordered by how many of the 49 guides rank them, with the number of first places and our editorial rating.
ExchangeRanked inRanks first inRating
Kraken46 of 4964.7
Coinbase40 of 4904.5
Binance37 of 4984.2
Relai34 of 4964.5
Bitpanda31 of 4914.4
Bitstamp31 of 4904.3
Bitvavo27 of 49274.5
CEX.IO16 of 4904.0
Coinmama11 of 4903.9
BCX1 of 4903.4

Payment rails across Europe

Ordered by how many of the 49 guides list each rail in their payment vocabulary, and how many lead with it. Counted under the registry name; each guide uses the local one.

Payment rails listed by at least one country guide in Europe, ordered by how many of the 49 guides list them, with how many treat each as their primary rail.
Payment railFamilyListed inPrimary in
Credit or debit cardCard48 of 496
SEPA transferSEPA (euro area)41 of 4931
Apple PayPay wallet38 of 490
Google PayPay wallet37 of 490
SEPA InstantSEPA (euro area)21 of 490
Local bank transferDomestic bank rail13 of 496
P2P tradePeer-to-peer7 of 490
Wire transferInternational wire6 of 490
Faster PaymentsDomestic bank rail3 of 493
ElixirDomestic bank rail1 of 491
Express ElixirDomestic bank rail1 of 491
iDEALDomestic bank rail1 of 491

7 more rails are listed by a single guide each; the payment rails hub carries every one with the countries that use it.

How this grouping is drawn

Membership follows the region and subregion recorded on each country guide. The guide, not this hub, is where a country's facts are sourced; this page only counts them.

Frequently asked questions

Is bitcoin legal in Europe?

Bitcoin is legal in 48 of the 49 countries in Europe we cover. It is restricted in Russia. The guide for Russia is written legality first and recommends no exchange. Each country guide carries the sourced legal note behind its status.

Which exchange works in the most countries in Europe?

Kraken is ranked in 46 of the 49 country guides in Europe, and ranks first in 6. Coinbase follows in 40. Each guide ranks its own roster on published fees, security record and local payment support, so the same exchange can sit first in one country and fourth in the next.

How do people in Europe pay for bitcoin?

Credit or debit card is a listed payment rail in 48 of the 49 countries, SEPA transfer in 41, Apple Pay in 38. Counted from each guide's own payment vocabulary, under the registry name; the rail's own page lists every country that carries it.

Which countries in Europe have the most exchanges to choose from?

26 of the 49 tie at 7 ranked exchanges, Austria, Belgium and Bulgaria among them. A count is how many platforms the guide ranks after checking that each one serves residents and takes a local payment rail, not how many claim the country on their own site.

How is Europe divided on this site?

Into 6 subregions, following the subregion field on each country record: Central Europe (5), Eastern Europe (4), Northern Europe (13), Southeastern Europe (8), Southern Europe (9), Western Europe (9). Each has its own hub with the same tables at a finer grain.

More regions

Other regions

Every region, subregion and bloc

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