Finst review 2026
One flat 0.15% fee, MiCA via the AFM and 340+ assets — the cost-conscious Dutch alternative, with a few clear limitations.
ExchangeFacts verdict
Finst is an Amsterdam-based, MiCA-licensed exchange built around a single flat 0.15% fee — cheaper on paper than Bitvavo's 0.25% base — with 340+ assets, iDEAL and SEPA. It is a strong pick for cost-conscious Dutch retail, but it offers no perpetuals or stocks, has no current Proof of Reserves — the last public reserve audit dates from July 2023, and its withdrawal fees are not transparently published.
Best suited for
Overview
Finst is an Amsterdam-based crypto exchange founded in 2022 by Julien Vallet and Marcel Putina — both ex-DEGIRO. The platform targets cost-conscious Dutch retail investors with a single flat fee of 0.15% and 340+ crypto assets. Finst has held a MiCA licence from the Dutch AFM since July 2025.
Licensing & regulation
- MiCA licence: Netherlands (AFM), since July 2025 — licence number 41000015
- MiFID II: no — no perpetuals or derivatives
- Payment Institution: no — via banking partners
- DNB fine: none — clean track record
Products
| Product | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Spot crypto | Live | 340+ assets, EUR |
| Perpetuals | No | Not supported |
| Tokenised stocks | No | Not supported |
| SEPA/iDEAL | Live | Direct EUR |
| Staking | Live | Selected assets |
Costs
- Flat fee: 0.15% for everyone (maker = taker), no tiers — on paper cheaper than Bitvavo’s 0.25% base fee
- Execution: best execution advertised without hidden spread markups
- Withdrawal fees: reportedly exceed actual network cost and are not published in a fixed list
According to users, crypto withdrawal fees exceed actual network costs, and Finst publishes no fixed withdrawal fee list — you only see them when confirming a transaction.
Yield & capital efficiency
- Staking: available on selected assets
- Yield on cash balances: none
- Cross-collateral / unified wallet: n/a (no derivatives)
Proof of Reserves
- Current Proof of Reserves: no
- Last public reserve audit: 13 July 2023 — more than three years old and therefore not current
- ExchangeFacts PoR score: 0 points; a one-off audit from 2023 does not count as a periodic attestation
- Client assets: segregated per MiCA requirements
Finst still presents the 2023 document as a Proof of Reserves. On its own page Finst also notes that a PoR has only limited validity over time and that the August 2023 audit is the most recent one. Without a new periodic check we do not treat this as current proof of reserves.
Track record
- No DNB fine — clean regulatory record
- MiCA-licensed via the AFM since July 2025
- Founders with a DEGIRO (execution-focused) background
Pros / cons
Pros
- Lowest flat fee among Dutch platforms (0.15%)
- MiCA-licensed via the AFM
- Dutch language, iDEAL and SEPA
- 340+ assets, simple interface
- Clean regulatory record
Cons
- No current Proof of Reserves; last public audit dates from July 2023
- No perpetuals, derivatives or stocks
- No yield on cash balances
- Withdrawal fees not transparently published
- No advanced trading features
Score breakdown in detail
Every point is traceable per methodology v1.6 (as of 23 August 2026):
Frequently asked questions
Is Finst cheaper than Bitvavo?
On the trading fee yes: a flat 0.15% versus 0.25% base at Bitvavo. Do compare total costs including withdrawal fees.
Is Finst safe?
Finst is MiCA-licensed via the AFM (no. 41000015) and must segregate client assets. There is however no current Proof of Reserves: the most recent publicly available independent reserve audit dates from 13 July 2023, so ExchangeFacts does not count it as a current PoR.
Can I trade perpetuals or stocks on Finst?
No — Finst is spot-only.