IG Europe
IG Europe GmbH is the Frankfurt company of IG Group, the London broker in the FTSE 100 index, and serves clients across the European Union from Westhafenplatz 1. Its clients trade more than ten cryptocurrencies, among them bitcoin, ether and litecoin, as CFDs and knock-out options without owning a coin. A Crypto 10 index covers the ten largest coins in a single trade.
On 21 November 2025 the German financial supervisor recorded a notification of IG Europe under Article 60 of the EU crypto regulation, the route for firms that already hold a financial license. It covers custody of crypto assets, exchange against money or other crypto assets and order execution in 27 countries of the European Economic Area. A spot crypto service for European clients is in preparation, with no launch date announced so far.
Notification to BaFin under Article 60
The interim MiCA register of ESMA lists IG Europe GmbH with a notification dated 21 November 2025 to BaFin under Article 60. Four services are covered: custody and administration of crypto assets for clients, exchange of crypto assets for funds, exchange of crypto assets for other crypto assets and execution of orders for clients. The register names 27 countries for these services, from Germany and Austria to Norway and Sweden.
The law firm Simmons & Simmons advised IG on the notification and wrote in December 2025 that IG is among the few providers in Germany with a MiCAR authorization. It names trading and custody of crypto assets such as bitcoin inside the app that IG clients already use. MiCA Article 60 is open to banks and investment firms with a license under national law.
Spot crypto with Bitpanda
In May 2026 IG Europe announced a partnership with Bitpanda, which holds a MiCA license from BaFin, to bring spot crypto to its clients in Europe. Bitpanda provides the liquidity, the trading connection and the market data, so IG Europe needs no back end of its own for the service.
Esteve Jane, managing director of IG Europe, said the partnership broadens the product offering across Europe and gives experienced investors access to a wider range of asset classes. IG Group launched spot crypto in the United Kingdom earlier in 2026, while IG Europe has not announced a timeline for the European rollout.
Crypto CFDs and knock-out options
Today clients of IG Europe speculate on crypto prices with CFDs and knock-out options on the IG web platform and in the app, and bitcoin CFDs also trade in MetaTrader 4. A crypto CFD is free of commission, so the spread is the main cost, while a knock-out option charges a commission per lot and limits the loss to the premium paid.
Retail clients put up a margin of 50 percent on every crypto market, which equals leverage of 1:2. IG states that 74 percent of retail CFD accounts lose money with this provider, and these crypto derivatives fall under MiFID II, outside the scope of MiCA.
Upcoming blockchain and digital asset events in Germany
IG crypto fees
Crypto CFDs at IG carry no commission, and the spread is the fee for the trade, for example 90 points on a bitcoin CFD in the cost table of IG. Knock-out options charge a commission per lot from 0.1 units of the contract currency. Opening a CFD account at IG is free, and new traders get smaller minimum trade sizes for their first month.
Crypto wallet at IG
IG offers no crypto wallet today, because a CFD or a knock-out option tracks the price and no coin is delivered to the client. The MiCA notification of IG Europe includes custody of crypto assets, which a spot service needs to hold coins for clients. IG Europe has not said whether a later spot service will allow transfers to external wallets.
Bitcoin at IG
Bitcoin trades at IG as a CFD on the IG platform and in MetaTrader 4, and as a knock-out option with a knock-out level that the client chooses. Retail clients need a margin of 50 percent of the position value for a bitcoin CFD. A bitcoin ETF or ETP is a separate security and has nothing to do with the CFD account.
Crypto 10 index
The Crypto 10 index of IG tracks the ten largest coins and lets a client trade the crypto market as a whole in one position. It trades as a CFD with the same 50 percent margin for retail clients as the single coins. Like the single coin CFDs, the index delivers no coins and settles the price difference in cash.
IG Europe and MiCA
IG Europe GmbH holds a license from BaFin as an investment firm and uses it for the MiCA notification instead of a separate authorization as a crypto-asset service provider. Under Article 60 a firm may offer the crypto services that match its existing license after notifying its supervisor at least 40 working days in advance. The MiCA transitional period for providers without such a license ended on 1 July 2026 at the latest.
IG Europe and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers brokers that add crypto services under MiCA in the Investment & Digital Assets track and their supervisory route in Risk & Compliance. IG Europe is based in Frankfurt, where Finance Loop holds its events, and its Article 60 notification shows how an investment firm with a BaFin license can extend its offer to crypto custody and trading.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, tokenization, stablecoins, and DeFi. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.