Total Costs in Crypto Trading for Retail Investors

In their study, Professor Dr. Co-Pierre Georg and the Frankfurt School Centre for Digital Economics, in collaboration with INTAS.tech, analyse the total costs of crypto trading for retail investors in the German market. The aim of this analysis is to create transparency with regard to the actual cost burden of trading cryptocurrencies and to systematically identify differences between providers.

Total costs in crypto trading represent a key determinant of net returns for retail investors. In addition to explicit trading fees, spreads – i.e. the difference between buying and selling prices – as well as volume-dependent effects significantly influence the overall cost burden. Despite the growing use of app-based trading platforms, the overall cost structure often remains difficult for users to fully understand.

The analysis is based on a comparative approach using standardised roundtrips, in which the same cryptocurrency is bought and immediately sold. In total, 432 such transactions were executed via the mobile applications of nine MiCAR-regulated providers. The study covers six cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Solana, Chainlink, and Avalanche – as well as two order volumes of EUR 100 and EUR 500, in order to assess both general cost levels and volume-related effects.

The results reveal substantial differences in cost levels between providers. Average total costs per roundtrip range from approximately 0.53% to 6.45%. While providers such as Bitvavo exhibit comparatively low cost levels, platforms such as Coinbase are associated with significantly higher costs. Overall, the observed range exceeds six percentage points, indicating considerable variation in underlying cost structures.

A key component of total costs, in addition to explicit trading fees, are spreads, which are often not disclosed separately but have a significant impact on the actual cost burden. The findings therefore highlight the importance of a comprehensive assessment of all cost components in crypto trading.

With regard to volume dependency, no uniform pattern can be identified. For the majority of providers, relative costs remain largely stable across the analysed order sizes. This suggests that scale effects in crypto trading for retail investors are limited and that cost structures are often largely independent of transaction volume.

Overall, the study underlines the importance of transparency and comparability in crypto trading. For retail investors, it becomes evident that the choice of trading platform has a significant impact on actual costs and, consequently, on investment performance. At the same time, the findings provide important implications for providers and regulators, particularly with regard to the disclosure and standardisation of cost information.