Crypto Country GuideCrypto rules and tax, country by country

Netherlands: regulation

Last reviewed: October 2026

On this page
  1. Legal status and supervision
  2. Exchanges and KYC
  3. Stablecoins
  4. Crypto ATMs
  5. Scams and fraud
    1. Where to report, and what happens
  6. Self-custody
    1. If you lose access to your wallet
  7. Sources
  • Crypto service providers need a MiCA license or notification, from the AFM or from the regulator of another EU country. The Dutch transitional period ended on 30 June 2025.
  • Check a provider in the AFM register before you use it. Bitcoin and Ethereum themselves are not supervised.
  • Expect identity checks. For transfers above €1,000 to or from your own wallet, the provider must check whether that wallet is yours.
  • Stablecoins may only be offered for trading in the EU if their issuer is authorized under MiCA; check the issuer in the ESMA register.
  • Watch for unsolicited “exclusive” tips, pressure and promised returns. Report fraud to the police and to the AFM; neither can promise to get your money back.
  • There is no rule to register a self-custody wallet. Crypto you can no longer reach still counts in box 3 at its market value.

This page covers who supervises crypto in the Netherlands, what that means when you use an exchange, and the rules for your own wallet. It is general information, not legal advice.

The Netherlands applies the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The AFM is the licensing authority for crypto-asset service providers and is responsible for most of their ongoing supervision. DNB is responsible for prudential supervision and for assessing qualifying holdings in these providers. The EU-wide rules are explained on EU rules.

Firms that were registered with DNB as exchange or custodian wallet providers could keep operating under a transitional regime. In the Netherlands that regime ended on 30 June 2025, so these firms now need a MiCA license or notification.

It helps to know what the AFM does not supervise. The AFM says that crypto-assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum themselves fall outside its supervision, and that a large part of the crypto sector stays outside it even after the new legislation. It warns that large risks remain in the crypto market, and names promotion by social media influencers and pump-and-dump schemes as examples.

Exchanges and KYC

An exchange or custodian that serves customers in the Netherlands needs a MiCA license or notification, from the AFM or from the regulator of another EU country. Before you use a provider, look it up in the AFM register of crypto-asset service providers. If a provider is not in the register, the AFM says it may not need a license, may have an application pending, or may be operating illegally. Check before you use it. A comparison of the licensed exchanges, with their fees, is on exchanges.

Expect to be identified. Providers collect your name, address, tax residence and tax identification number, which they report to the Belastingdienst under DAC8 (see filing and deadlines). They must also send information about the sender and recipient with crypto transfers under the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation (the travel rule), which has applied in full since 30 December 2024.

Stablecoins

MiCA has two kinds of stablecoins. An e-money token (EMT) references one official currency, such as the euro or the dollar. An asset-referenced token (ART) references another value or a mix of values. Since 30 June 2024 an EMT may only be offered to the public or admitted to trading in the EU by an issuer that is authorized as a bank or an e-money institution, and an ART only if the regulator has authorized its issuer. Holders of an EMT can always redeem it at par value, and issuers and providers may not pay interest on EMTs. In the Netherlands DNB supervises stablecoin issuers and the AFM checks their white papers.

For stablecoins whose issuer is not authorized in the EU, ESMA said on 17 January 2025 that crypto service providers had to stop offering them for trading and stop buy services for them, with a “sell only” period until the end of March 2025 at the latest. Simply holding them in custody and transferring them remains possible. ESMA did not name individual tokens.

To check a stablecoin, look up its issuer in ESMA’s interim MiCA register of e-money token issuers. At the time of writing (October 2026) it lists three Dutch issuers supervised by DNB (Fiat Republic Netherlands, Quantoz Payments and Aplauz NL), and the register of authorized ART issuers is empty. We did not find the issuer of USDT (Tether) in the register. Which exchanges you can use is on exchanges.

Crypto ATMs

We found no statement by the AFM or DNB specifically about crypto ATMs (October 2026). MiCA lists exchanging crypto for funds as a crypto-asset service, and since the Dutch transitional period ended on 30 June 2025 every provider of crypto services in the Netherlands needs a MiCA license or notification. If you want to use a crypto ATM, look up its operator in the AFM register like any other provider, and expect the same identity checks.

Scams and fraud

The AFM and the police warn about investment fraud, often with crypto. Signs they name:

  • You are added, unasked, to a WhatsApp or Telegram group where “exclusive” investment tips are shared. The AFM says reputable firms never do this.
  • An online ad shows a well-known Dutch person praising an investment; scammers use names and photos without permission.
  • You are pushed to invest quickly, and returns are promised that are unrealistically high.
  • The provider claims the AFM has approved it. The AFM never gives a positive opinion about an investment.
  • A platform shows high returns and an “adviser” asks you to deposit more. When you try to withdraw, the platform and the adviser disappear (boiler room fraud, according to the police).
  • After a loss, someone offers to recover your money for an upfront fee. The AFM warns that after payment nothing happens.

Before you invest, check the provider in the AFM register and on the AFM warning list, which also shows warnings from foreign regulators.

Where to report, and what happens

  • Stop paying and stop contact with the “adviser”, as the police advise. Keep all digital traces, such as messages, screenshots, wallet addresses and transaction IDs.
  • Police. Fraud is a crime: file a report (aangifte) at a police station or by calling 0900-8844 (112 in an emergency). For theft of crypto the police publish a form that helps you prepare the report.
  • AFM. Report it through the AFM’s contact form for consumers. The AFM uses reports as signals for its investigations and can share them with other authorities, but its reporting desk cannot give personal advice or mediate. It cannot act itself against a firm licensed in another EU country; it passes the signal to that country’s regulator, where you can also complain.
  • Your bank, if you paid by bank transfer or card.

Neither the AFM nor the police promise to get your money back. A dispute with a licensed exchange is a different matter: see where to complain.

Self-custody

Crypto in your own wallet is taxed the same way as crypto on an exchange: it is a box 3 asset, valued on 1 January, at the rate of the platform you used (see personal tax). In the sources listed below we found no Dutch rule that requires you to register a self-custody wallet.

The rules do reach you when you move crypto between a provider and your own wallet. For transfers above €1,000 to or from a self-hosted wallet, the provider must take adequate measures to assess whether the wallet is owned or controlled by its customer.

Holding crypto yourself means the keys are your responsibility. If you keep larger amounts of bitcoin in your own wallet, it is worth comparing a single hardware wallet with a multisig setup; this explanation of multisig versus single-sig sets out what each protects against.

If you lose access to your wallet

The Belastingdienst’s knowledge group published guidance on inaccessible crypto on 8 May 2026. Crypto you can no longer reach, for example because you lost the private key or seed phrase of a non-custodial wallet, remains your property and stays a box 3 asset.

  • The value is the price the most interested market party would pay for the crypto. If no one would pay anything, the value is zero.
  • Value is determined on 1 January of each year. If you regain access later, earlier years are not corrected, unless it turns out you had access on the reference date.
  • You have to show, with facts and circumstances, that the crypto is inaccessible.

What heirs need to do to reach crypto in a wallet or on an exchange is covered in this guide to crypto inheritance in the Netherlands. For the rest of your digital life, such as email, password managers and online accounts, see this introduction to planning a digital estate.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the official sources above before you act.