Broker (crypto broker)

With a broker, you don’t trade in an order bookGlossaryOrder bookA list of all open buy and sell orders for a trading pair such as BTC/USD, sorted by price. The price forms between the highest bid and the lowest ask.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 1 – Ways to get Bitcoin →In the glossary →× yourself. You enter an amount, see a price – often fixed for a few seconds – and confirm. The provider then buys on the market or sells to you directly from its own holdings. Most Bitcoin appsGlossaryBitcoin appA smartphone app you can use to buy, save and often also store bitcoin. The key difference: some apps hold the bitcoin for you, others give you your own keys from the start.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 1 – Ways to get Bitcoin →In the glossary →× and neobrokers work this way.

Where the costs are

‘Fee-free’ doesn’t mean free. Your purchase price is often above the market price – the difference is the spreadGlossarySpread (bid-ask spread)The difference between the buy and sell price. With many apps, the spread is the real fee – it just doesn’t appear as a separate item on your statement.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 2 – Choosing a provider →In the glossary →×. The German app BISONProvider · ExchangeBISONCrypto app from the Boerse Stuttgart Group: no trading fee, but a spread – withdrawals to your own wallet: €0 fee (as of 09/2026).Licence: MiCA (BaFin, Germany) · reviewed Sept 2026Costs: no trading fee, average Bitcoin spread 1.25% per buy or sell (as of Sept 2026)On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 2 – Choosing a provider →Our profile →Official website ↗×, for example, charges no trading fee but states an average spread for bitcoin of 1.25% on each purchase and each sale (as of September 2026).^[1] Others charge a percentage fee, some both.

Example: you buy for $1,000 and the price is 1.25% above the market price. At the market price, your bitcoin is then worth around $988. When you sell, the spread applies again.

What to look out for

• Do you see the fee and the spread before you buy?
• Can you withdraw to your own walletGlossaryWallet (Bitcoin wallet)Software or a device that manages your private keys, generates receiving addresses and signs transactions. The bitcoin itself isn’t in the wallet but on the blockchain – the wallet holds the access to it.On the learning path: Stage 5 · Step 2 – Setting up your first wallet →In the glossary →×?
• Is the provider authorised as a CASPGlossaryCASP (crypto-asset service provider)A company that professionally provides crypto-asset services to customers – such as trading, exchange, custody or transfers. In the EU, every CASP needs an authorisation under MiCA.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 2 – Choosing a provider →In the glossary →× under MiCA?

You can compare cost models in the fee calculator.