Crypto broker software: three ways a licensed broker adds crypto trading, and what each one costs
How a forex broker adds crypto trading: a CFD on MT5 or cTrader, an exchange referral, or its own crypto broker program. Costs, launch time, licence questions.
BitPolaris Engineering
“Crypto broker software” has two different buyers: one wants a crypto symbol on the platform the firm already runs, the other wants to be where clients buy, hold and withdraw coins. A licensed forex or CFD broker asking how to add crypto trading has three routes: a crypto CFD or other derivative on its MetaTrader 5 or cTrader platform, priced by a liquidity provider; a referral arrangement with an exchange; or a spot venue under its own brand. Only the third needs exchange software.
Prices below are our published list prices; regulatory points are questions for counsel, not conclusions. Funding trading accounts with USDT is a separate payment-gateway project, covered in how to add USDT deposits to a forex broker.
Route 1: a crypto CFD on the platform you already run
What the client gets. A new symbol, such as BTCUSD, traded on margin in the account currency, with the margin, hours and swaps your dealing desk sets. The client never owns a coin: no wallet, no deposit address, no withdrawal.
What the broker owns. The client relationship, the brand, the trading data and the market risk, passed to the liquidity provider or warehoused as with any other CFD. Revenue is the spread or markup and the financing charge. No coins, so no keys.
What it costs. No exchange software: the cost is the liquidity-provider agreement, bridge configuration or integration, and risk parameters. Operationally the change is the calendar: crypto trades around the clock, including weekends, so margin calls, stop-outs, dealer cover and the weekend price feed need a plan.
Time to launch. The shortest of the three if the platform, CRM, cashier and client agreement are in place: a liquidity contract and platform configuration.
The question for counsel. Whether your authorisation covers derivatives on a crypto underlying, for which client categories and under which marketing rules. Some regulators restrict crypto derivatives for retail clients, for example the UK FCA’s ban on selling crypto-referencing derivatives to retail consumers (PS20/10, in force since 6 January 2021); others treat them like any other CFD.
Route 2: refer clients to an exchange
What the client gets. An account at the partner exchange, under the partner’s terms and KYC process, in the partner’s app. Real coins, held at the partner.
What the broker owns. A referral code and a share of the partner’s fees while the agreement lasts, reported by the partner, not your ledger. Your brand appears at most on a co-branded landing page; client data, wallets, keys and support remain with the partner, as does any decision to change fees, delist a market or leave a country.
What it costs. No software; legal review of the agreement, marketing material and tracking. Operations are light, but complaints, financial-promotion review and partner monitoring stay with you.
Time to launch. Signing the partner agreement and publishing the referral link.
The question for counsel. Whether introducing or promoting crypto services is itself a regulated activity where you are licensed and where clients live, whether financial-promotion rules apply to your material, and whether the partner may serve those clients.
Route 3: your own spot venue, the crypto broker program
“Crypto broker program” or “cryptocurrency broker program” can mean a referral programme like route 2 or a broker’s own venue; this section is about the venue, the one that needs software.
What the client gets. A crypto account under your brand, funded through your bank and PSP where they accept crypto-related flows. Clients buy or sell on the Easy Trade screen without an order book or trade on the Pro terminal with TradingView charts, hold coins in wallets on nine chains, withdraw to their own addresses, and use iOS and Android apps published from your developer accounts. A shared login with the forex platform is integration work, not a setting.
What the broker owns. The brand, the client data, the signing keys (self-hosted and source-code models), the trading fees and markup, and the operating record of KYC decisions, withdrawal approvals, treasury movements and audit log, the evidence licence applications typically ask for; what regulators ask for lists the sections.
Software cost. The Exchange block is €7,700 setup plus €1,600 a month on our cloud, €24,500 self-hosted or €58,100 for the source code. A broker usually adds the Wallet (€11,900 self-hosted), Custody with hot, warm and cold tiers and M-of-N approvals (€14,000 with the Exchange), the iOS and Android apps (€1,700 and €1,250 one-time) and fiat rails (€1,700 one-time; EUR and TRY live, other currencies and card on-ramps scoped with your PSP). Self-hosted updates and support are 20% of the licence a year; the pricing configurator gives a year-one total.
Operations cost. Two or three people to start, more with volume and hours, for the KYC queue, withdrawal approvals, support and reconciliation, plus a KYC provider, hosting, working balances on the hedging venue, chain fees and address screening. On cloud we run the servers; self-hosted, you do, with our support through credentials you issue.
Liquidity. Rather than fund inventory in 97 markets (roughly $930,000 at default limits), the Mirror engine publishes a reference venue’s order book with a markup as your book and hedges each client fill on that venue as it happens; net exposure stays near zero while hedges execute, and the markup is your margin. You keep working balances on the hedging venue, so part of the float sits there under your account; counsel should know that when describing custody. A per-market cost floor, an open-exposure queue, a credit-line guard and a panic control flag and limit unhedged fills; exchange liquidity without parking capital explains the cycle.
Time to launch. Five weeks from signature to go-live on the hosted model, one to two weeks more self-hosted for the install and key ceremony; the source-code licence launches on your schedule after 90 days of onboarding.
The question for counsel. Whether offering spot crypto, holding client coins and exchanging crypto for fiat fall under a crypto-specific regime (a VASP or CASP licence or registration) separate from your forex licence, and which entity should hold it. In the EU an investment firm may be able to notify under Article 60 of MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, for services equivalent to its existing authorisation; whether that is open to you is for counsel. The software ships with a technical file for the application; it does not make anyone licensed.
The three routes side by side
| Crypto CFD on MT5 or cTrader | Referral to an exchange | Your own spot venue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the client gets | Margin exposure to a crypto price | An account at the partner | Coins, wallets, withdrawals, apps under your brand |
| Who holds the coins | Nobody on the client’s behalf | The partner | You; part of the float on the hedging venue |
| Brand and client data | Yours | The partner’s | Yours |
| Keys | None | The partner’s | Yours self-hosted; in the instance on cloud |
| Revenue | Spread, markup, financing | A share of the partner’s fees | Trading fees and the markup on mirrored books |
| Software | None new | None | Exchange from €7,700 setup + €1,600 a month or €24,500 self-hosted, plus modules |
| Time to launch | Contract and configuration | Contract and referral link | Five weeks hosted; one to two more self-hosted |
| Licence question | Crypto derivatives covered, and for whom? | Is introducing or promoting crypto regulated for you? | Which crypto regime covers spot, custody and fiat exchange? |
Which route, and in what order
The routes are not exclusive: route 1 suits a broker that wants exposure products and no contact with coins; route 2 tests demand for a limited period, with little data kept; route 3 suits a broker whose clients ask where their coins are, or who wants the relationship and the revenue in house, often alongside route 1.
For route 3, check the deployment model against your licence with counsel. Our cloud option, the one we call white-label, is a dedicated instance we run under your brand, with the keys encrypted inside it. If your licence requires control of keys or data residency, as many do, the configuration is self-hosted; the Custody block is self-hosted only. Cloud can migrate to self-hosted later with the setup fee credited; see the deployment page and self-hosted crypto exchange software.
What to ask a crypto broker software vendor
- Keys. Where are signing keys generated and stored, who attends the key ceremony, and does the vendor keep standing access afterwards?
- Liquidity model. Where do order books come from, who funds inventory or hedging balances, and can your team see every unhedged fill?
- Data ownership. Who owns the client records, trade history and audit log, and can you export all of it without the vendor?
- Exit. What survives if you stop paying: licence, data, running system? Our cloud exits with 90 days’ notice and a full data export; self-hosted and source-code licences are perpetual.
- Apps. Are the iOS and Android apps published under your developer accounts, so the listing, reviews and signing certificates are yours?
- Audit log and approval queues. Does every money action and settings change land in an exportable log, and do withdrawals, KYC decisions and treasury movements pass approval queues under roles your compliance officer controls?
Crypto broker software FAQ
What is crypto broker software?
The software a broker needs to offer crypto trading under its own brand: order matching, wallets and custody, accounts with KYC, a buy-and-sell screen and an order-book terminal, mobile apps, liquidity connections and an operations console with approval queues and an audit log. A crypto CFD on MT5 or cTrader does not need it; your own spot venue, the crypto broker program, does.
How do I add crypto trading to a forex broker?
Three ways: a crypto CFD on the existing platform through a liquidity provider, a referral arrangement with an exchange, or a spot venue under your own brand built on exchange software. Only the third leaves the brand, the data, the keys and the revenue with the broker.
Does a forex licence cover spot crypto?
Treat it as a separate question. Spot crypto, custody of client coins and crypto-to-fiat exchange are typically covered by crypto-specific regimes; some let an existing investment firm notify rather than apply from scratch. Which applies depends on your licence and jurisdiction; confirm with counsel before buying software.
How much does crypto broker software cost?
Our list prices: Exchange €7,700 setup plus €1,600 a month on cloud, €24,500 self-hosted or €58,100 for the source code; Wallet €11,900 self-hosted; Custody €14,000 with the Exchange; iOS €1,700, Android €1,250 and fiat rails €1,700 one-time; self-hosted updates and support 20% of the licence per year.
BitPolaris licenses the software that runs a production exchange to brokers with a licence or an application under way: Easy Trade and a Pro terminal, wallets and custody, apps under your store accounts, a 53-screen operations console and a liquidity engine that hedges each fill. Prices are public.