xChange.bg vs Bitstamp: licence, custody, fees and accounts compared

Bitstamp is a crypto exchange that serves EU clients from Luxembourg and, since June 2025, is part of Robinhood. xChange.bg is a Bulgarian account service built on stablecoins. Both can take euro from a Bulgarian bank and turn it into USDC, but they differ on licence, custody, cost and what you can do with the money afterwards. This page compares them on the facts published as of 16 September 2026.

Who each service is for

Bitstamp suits people who want a regulated EU exchange with an order book, low trading fees for active traders and a simple buy and sell mode for occasional use. Its fee schedule lists stablecoin pairs such as USDC/EUR and EURC/EUR alongside other crypto-assets (source 1).

xChange.bg suits people and companies who want EUR and USD accounts in their own name, with incoming money held as USDC in a wallet they control and paid out to any bank. It is not an exchange and does not offer other crypto-assets.

Licence and regulation

Bitstamp is strong here. Bitstamp Europe S.A., 40 avenue Monterey, Luxembourg, is authorised by Luxembourg's CSSF as a payment institution and as a crypto-asset service provider (source 1). ESMA's interim MiCA register shows the MiCA authorisation dated 15 May 2025, covering custody, operating a trading platform, exchange for funds and for other crypto-assets, order execution, reception and transmission of orders and transfer services, passported to 30 EEA countries including Bulgaria (source 2). Bitstamp announced the licence on its blog (source 3). Robinhood completed its acquisition of Bitstamp on 2 June 2025 (source 4).

xChange.bg is a technology provider. EUR and USD accounts and conversions are provided by regulated partner Bridge, a Stripe company.

Custody

Bitstamp holds client assets: when you buy USDC, it sits in your Bitstamp account until you withdraw it. xChange.bg puts USDC straight into a self-custody wallet where you hold the keys. A regulated custodian means someone else safeguards the keys; self-custody means the platform cannot freeze the balance, and cannot recover a mistaken transfer either.

Money in and money out

Bitstamp. To deposit, you create a deposit order and receive Bitstamp's bank details with a personal reference number to quote in the transfer (source 7). SEPA deposits are free, and Instant SEPA is available if your bank supports it (sources 1 and 6). Card purchases cost 4%. Withdrawals go to your personal bank account (source 8), at EUR 3 for SEPA or 0.1% with a EUR 25 minimum for international wire (source 1).

xChange.bg. You get an EUR IBAN and USD account details in your name. You, an employer or a client pays in, and the money lands as USDC. Payouts go to your own or a recipient's bank in EUR or USD.

Fees and a cost example

Bitstamp's fee schedule, valid from 1 September 2026, sets two ways to trade (source 1):

• Basic Trading (simple buy and sell): a fixed spread of 0.5% for stablecoins and 1.8% for other crypto-assets, plus a volatility spread of 0% to 0.5%.
• Order book: for 30-day volume under USD 10,000, stablecoin and FX pairs cost 0.060% maker and 0.080% taker.

xChange.bg: 1.5% in (minimum EUR 1), 1.25% out to a bank (minimum EUR 2), free between clients, network cost on-chain.

Buying USDC with EUR 1,000 sent by SEPA:

Selling USDC worth EUR 1,000 to your bank:

On published fees, Bitstamp is cheaper to buy, and cheaper or level to sell. The example leaves out Bitstamp's fee for withdrawing USDC to an external wallet, and the exchange rate each side applies at the moment of the trade. Run your own figures in the stablecoin fee calculator.

Stablecoins

For EU and EEA clients, Bitstamp stopped trading USDT, DAI, PYUSD and some other tokens in January 2025 and converted remaining balances into USDC or BTC on 6 May 2025 (source 9). USDC remains available. xChange.bg offers USDC; see USDC or USDT for how USDC and USDT differ.

Where Bitstamp is stronger

• Licence. A CSSF MiCA authorisation in its own name, passported to Bulgaria.
• Price. Lower published costs for converting EUR to USDC, especially on the order book.
• 24/7 live support. Including phone lines for the EU (+352 20 88 10 96) and globally (source 5).
• Range. Many crypto-assets and an order book for active trading.
• Owner. Part of Robinhood since June 2025 (source 4).

Where xChange.bg is different

• Accounts in your name. An IBAN and USD details that others can pay into.
• Self-custody. Coins land in your wallet, not on an exchange balance.
• USD rails. ACH and wire in your name, where Bitstamp offers no USD account.
• Payouts to third parties. Pay a supplier's bank, not only your own.
• Support in Bulgarian. By email and at 66 Vitosha Blvd, Sofia. Bitstamp's site offers English, Slovenian and Spanish.

On Trustpilot, Bitstamp showed 1.4 from about 1,000 reviews on 16 September 2026 (source 10). Our Bitstamp review covers the company in more depth.

How to switch from Bitstamp to xChange.bg

1. Open an xChange.bg account online and verify your identity.
2. Copy your xChange.bg wallet address and check the network.
3. Withdraw a small amount of USDC from Bitstamp on a matching network and confirm it arrives.
4. Move the rest, or sell on Bitstamp and send EUR from your bank to your xChange.bg IBAN.

Selling other crypto-assets to move into USDC can create taxable income; see our crypto tax guide. You can also keep Bitstamp for trading and use xChange.bg for receiving and paying in EUR and USD.