⚠︎ Risk warning: leveraged derivatives on unregulated platforms — you can lose everything you deposit. Not investment advice.
This is availability information, not legal advice. It records what dYdX's own Terms say and which EU registers were checked, with dates. It does not say whether trading is lawful for you, and it does not cover any way of getting around a venue's restrictions.
Is dYdX Available in the EU? Terms and Registers
Terms read on 2026-10-05; registers checked on 2026-10-05. Terms change; the venue's current page governs.
The short answer
- EU authorisation: none found. dYdX does not appear in the ESMA interim MiCA register of crypto-asset service providers, the ESMA register of MiFID, UCITS, AIFMD, EUSEF, EUVECA and ECSPR entities (investment firms, trading venues and fund managers), or the ESMA sanctions register (queries below).
- Its own Terms: dYdX's Terms do not list the European Union among the blocked jurisdictions, but they do single it out: the site "is not aimed at or being actively marketed to" EU persons.
- Who you are contracting with: dYdX Operations Services Limited ("Company", "we" or "us"), governed by the internal laws of the Cayman Islands; arbitration administered by the Cayman Islands Mediation & Arbitration Centre (CI-MAC), seated in George Town.
MiCA or MiFID II?
Perpetual futures are derivatives, so they fall under existing EU financial-services law (MiFID II) rather than MiCA, which covers crypto-assets that are not already financial instruments. A venue that is authorised under neither sits outside the EU perimeter entirely — no MiFID conduct rules, no complaints route, no compensation scheme. The full framing, with ESMA's own scope materials, is in the EU legality guide.
What dYdX's Terms say
Read at dydx.trade/terms (page states "Last Updated: 12 March 2026"):
THE SERVICES WERE NOT DEVELOPED FOR, MAY NOT BE USED BY, AND ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO PERSONS OR ENTITIES WHO RESIDE IN, ARE CITIZENS OF, ARE LOCATED IN, ARE INCORPORATED IN, OR HAVE A REGISTERED OFFICE OR PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE UNITED KINGDOM OR CANADA (COLLECTIVELY, "BLOCKED PERSONS").
On the European Union specifically:
THE WEBSITE WAS NOT SPECIFICALLY DEVELOPED FOR, AND IS NOT AIMED AT OR BEING ACTIVELY MARKETED TO, PERSONS OR ENTITIES WHO RESIDE IN, ARE LOCATED IN, ARE INCORPORATED IN, OR HAVE A REGISTERED OFFICE OR PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS.
The European Union also appears in this clause (Prohibited Uses — a clause on export laws, where the Terms attach the label "Limited Jurisdictions"):
In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the United States, Canada, European Union, the United Kingdom (collectively "Limited Jurisdictions") or other countries).
The European Union also appears in this clause (Affiliates, builders and revenue-sharing partners):
By using the revenue sharing software feature or participating as an affiliate, VIP affiliate, builder or revenue sharing partner, you agree that you will not conduct any marketing targeted at the Limited Jurisdictions (as defined below) or Restricted Jurisdictions. You agree that you will not market or advertise, directly or indirectly, to persons in the Limited Jurisdictions or Restricted Jurisdictions, or suggest that any person from such jurisdiction use a VPN or other identity masking technology to access the Services or the dYdX Chain protocol.
The Terms also prohibit circumventing their restrictions: "USE OF ANY TECHNOLOGY OR MECHANISM, SUCH AS A VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK ("VPN") TO CIRCUMVENT THE RESTRICTIONS SET FORTH HEREIN IS PROHIBITED.". This site does not describe or endorse any such method.
Registers checked
| Register | Search term | Result | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESMA interim MiCA register — crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) | dydx, dYdX Operations Services | no entry | 2026-10-05 |
| ESMA register of MiFID / UCITS / AIFMD / EUSEF / EUVECA / ECSPR entities (investment firms, trading venues, fund managers) | dydx, dYdX Operations Services | no entry | 2026-10-05 |
| ESMA sanctions register (administrative measures published by NCAs) | dydx, dYdX Operations Services | no entry | 2026-10-05 |
ESMA does not maintain a single EU-wide register of investor warnings; national competent authorities publish their own lists, and the IOSCO investor-alerts portal that aggregates them could not be queried by this site's tooling on the check date. No national warning list was searched. "No entry" above means no entry in the three ESMA registers named, nothing more.
What this does not mean
- "Not named in the Terms" is not an invitation. The venue decides who it serves and can change the list; the current page governs.
- "No entry in the registers" is not a clean bill of health. It confirms the absence of an EU licence, and nothing else.
- Your tax and reporting obligations are unaffected by any of the above; the EU guide says why.
Other venues
Hyperliquid · Aster · GMX · Lighter
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