Bitstamp
Company History
Bitstamp History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 2011 in Bled, Slovenia
When was Bitstamp founded?
Bitstamp was founded in 2011 in Bled, Slovenia by Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak, making it 15 years old.
- Founded
- 2011
- Founding place
- Bled, Slovenia
- Founders
- Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak
- Headquarters today
- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
- Milestones documented
- 13 (2011–2026)
- Current CEO
- Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2011 | August: Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak found Bitstamp in Slovenia as a European alternative to Mt. Gox. |
| 2013 | April: Registration moves to the UK; from September, account holders must verify identity with passports and proof of address. |
| 2014 | Pantera Capital's roughly $10 million investment becomes public in March; a February DDoS attack pauses withdrawals for several days as Mt. Gox collapses. |
| 2015 | January: Hackers steal under 19,000 BTC (about $5 million) from the hot wallet; Bitstamp reopens about a week later. |
| 2016 | April: Luxembourg licenses Bitstamp as a payment institution, the first crypto exchange regulated this way in the EU; headquarters move to Luxembourg. |
| 2018 | October: NXMH, the Belgian arm of South Korea's NXC, buys an 80% stake in an all-cash deal. |
| 2019 | April: New York's Department of Financial Services grants Bitstamp USA a BitLicense. |
| 2020 | October: Julian Sawyer becomes CEO; Kodrič moves to a non-executive board role. |
| 2022 | May 9: Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux is appointed Global CEO after Sawyer's departure. |
| 2023 | Ripple takes a minority stake; Bitstamp halts US trading in five tokens and ends US Ethereum staking for regulatory reasons. |
| 2024 | June: Robinhood agrees to buy Bitstamp for about $200 million in cash. |
| 2025 | May: Luxembourg's CSSF grants a MiCA license. June 2: Robinhood closes the acquisition. |
| 2026 | April: Perpetual futures launch for eligible EU customers. September 29: Robinhood says US crypto perpetuals will run through Robinhood Derivatives and Bitstamp. |
- Where was Bitstamp founded?
- Bitstamp was founded in Bled, Slovenia in 2011.
- Who founded Bitstamp?
- Bitstamp was founded by Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak.
- When did Bitstamp start?
- Bitstamp was founded in 2011.
- How old is Bitstamp?
- Bitstamp is 15 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Nejc Kodrič, a well-known figure in the early bitcoin community, started Bitstamp with Damijan Merlak in his native Slovenia in August 2011. Mt. Gox in Tokyo dominated bitcoin trading, but sending euros to Japan was slow and costly, so the pair built a European exchange funded by SEPA bank transfers, reportedly on a budget of about €1,000. Slovenia lacked the banking and legal services an exchange needed, so Bitstamp registered in the UK in April 2013, began requiring passport and address checks that September, and moved to Luxembourg in 2016.
Founders
Nejc Kodrič
Nejc Kodrič co-founded Bitstamp with Damijan Merlak in Slovenia in August 2011 and served as CEO until October 2020. He moved the company to the UK in 2013 and to Luxembourg in 2016, where it won the EU's first payment institution license for a crypto exchange. He refused a ransom during a 2014 DDoS attack, led the recovery from the 2015 hack and negotiated the 2018 sale of an 80% stake to NXMH, keeping a minority stake. He then joined Bitstamp's board as a non-executive director. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Damijan Merlak
Damijan Merlak co-founded Bitstamp with Nejc Kodrič in Slovenia in 2011, when the pair set out to build a European bitcoin exchange funded by SEPA bank transfers. He kept a much lower public profile than Kodrič and retained a minority stake after NXMH bought control in 2018. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
August: Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak found Bitstamp in Slovenia as a European alternative to Mt. Gox.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgApril: Registration moves to the UK; from September, account holders must verify identity with passports and proof of address.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPantera Capital's roughly $10 million investment becomes public in March; a February DDoS attack pauses withdrawals for several days as Mt. Gox collapses.
Source: finance.yahoo.comJanuary: Hackers steal under 19,000 BTC (about $5 million) from the hot wallet; Bitstamp reopens about a week later.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgApril: Luxembourg licenses Bitstamp as a payment institution, the first crypto exchange regulated this way in the EU; headquarters move to Luxembourg.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgOctober: NXMH, the Belgian arm of South Korea's NXC, buys an 80% stake in an all-cash deal.
Source: techcrunch.comApril: New York's Department of Financial Services grants Bitstamp USA a BitLicense.
Source: coinlaw.ioOctober: Julian Sawyer becomes CEO; Kodrič moves to a non-executive board role.
Source: blog.bitstamp.netMay 9: Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux is appointed Global CEO after Sawyer's departure.
Source: blog.bitstamp.netRipple takes a minority stake; Bitstamp halts US trading in five tokens and ends US Ethereum staking for regulatory reasons.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgJune: Robinhood agrees to buy Bitstamp for about $200 million in cash.
Source: robinhood.comMay: Luxembourg's CSSF grants a MiCA license. June 2: Robinhood closes the acquisition.
Source: blog.bitstamp.netApril: Perpetual futures launch for eligible EU customers. September 29: Robinhood says US crypto perpetuals will run through Robinhood Derivatives and Bitstamp.
Source: unchainedcrypto.comKeep researching Bitstamp
Bitstamp Company History FAQ
When was Bitstamp founded?
Bitstamp was founded in August 2011 in Slovenia by Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak. It moved its registration to the UK in April 2013 and to Luxembourg in 2016.
Is Bitstamp the oldest crypto exchange?
Bitstamp is the longest-running crypto exchange still operating. Mt. Gox and other exchanges from 2010 and 2011 have since closed.
What happened in the 2015 Bitstamp hack?
In January 2015 attackers who had phished Bitstamp staff stole under 19,000 BTC, about $5 million at the time, from its hot wallet. Trading was suspended and the exchange reopened about a week later.
Why was Bitstamp's 2016 Luxembourg license important?
In April 2016 Luxembourg licensed Bitstamp as a payment institution, the first crypto exchange regulated that way in the EU. The license let it serve customers across the bloc.
When did Bitstamp get a MiCA license?
Luxembourg's CSSF granted Bitstamp a MiCA crypto-asset service provider license in May 2025, letting it operate across the European Economic Area from Luxembourg.
When did Robinhood buy Bitstamp?
Robinhood announced the deal in June 2024 and closed it on June 2, 2025, paying about $200 million in cash.
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