 | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Mark Nuvelstijn Tim Baardse Jelle de Boer |
| Headquarters | Keizersgracht 281 1016 ED Amsterdam North Holland Netherlands |
Area served | Netherlands |
| Website | bitvavo.com |
Bitvavo is a Dutch cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018 [1] by programmers Tim Baardse, [2] Jelle de Boer [3] and business administrator Mark Nuvelstijn. [4]
Bitvavo was founded in 2018 by Dutch entrepreneurs Jelle de Boer, Tim Baardse, and Mark Nuvelstijn. Initially Bitvavo launched as a simple cryptocurrency broker and used existing trading platforms such as Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp. After this launch Bitvavo developed its own platform to operate independently and grew into a major EUR-denominated exchange in Europe. [5]
In 2020, the company received registration from the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank) as a digital asset service provider, [6] allowing it to operate legally within the Netherlands under European anti-money-laundering regulations.
In 2023, Bitvavo claimed to control around 40% of the Dutch cryptocurrency market and to have about one million customers. [7] [8] According to Quote, Bitvavo was the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the Netherlands in 2024. [9] The minimum order size on Bitvavo is €5. [10]
Bitvavo operates an online exchange platform that offers digital-asset trading and related services for retail and institutional clients.
Bitvavo supports the buying, selling, and trading of digital assets. [11]
Bitvavo facilitates crypto staking and lending. [12]
Bitvavo maintains a process for introducing new digital assets via an upcoming assets page. [13]
For professional and institutional clients, Bitvavo provides access to Bitvavo Pro which includes additional trading tools such as more detailed charting options. [14]
Bitvavo B.V. is officially registered as a crypto service provider with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), [15] the Dutch central bank responsible for overseeing financial institutions under the country’s implementation of EU anti-money-laundering regulations. This registration requires compliance with the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act and the Sanctions Act.
Client assets are safeguarded by a separate legal foundation, Stichting Bitvavo Payments, [16] which holds customers’ fiat and digital assets in segregated accounts to protect them from corporate liabilities. This structure is common among Dutch financial service providers that handle client funds and ensures legal separation between operational and custodial entities.
The Bitvavo group also includes Bitvavo Group B.V. [17] , which functions as the holding company, and Bitvavo Custody B.V. [18] , responsible for certain custody and lending-related operations.
In June 2025, Bitvavo also received authorisation under the EU’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) [19] framework from the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM), allowing it to operate across the European Economic Area under harmonised crypto-asset service provider rules.
Bitvavo has faced several incidents in recent years.
In September 2022, the company acknowledged that a technical misconfiguration exposed the personal data of eight users for about 15 minutes. Bitvavo clarified that no funds were affected and reported the issue to the Dutch Data Protection Authority. [20]
In Januari 2023, Bitvavo temporarily faced financial issues after lending €280 million to crypto service provider Gemini, a subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group, which was sued by the SEC. [21] [22] [23]
In November 2023, a system outage caused by its infrastructure provider left the platform temporarily inaccessible. [24]
In April 2024, a data breach affecting a limited number of customers was reported. [25]
In October 2024, Cybernews [26] reported that Bitvavo’s management had long-term access to customer data.
Then in July 2025, CEO Mark Nuvelstijn resigned following media reports alleging money-laundering and insider-trading links, according to Silicon Canals [27] and NL Times. [28]
Since 2022, Bitvavo has offered a one-time insurance guarantee against hacks up to €100,000. [29]
In March 2022, Bitvavo became one of the six main sponsors of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). [30] [31] In November 2025, Bitvavo and the KNVB announced an extension of their partnership until 2030. [32]