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Bybit.eu has announced that Bybit Payments GmbH has been granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence by Austria's Financial Market Authority, giving the group a regulated route into e-money and payments alongside the crypto-asset services already offered through the platform.
Bybit is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, founded in 2018 and led by co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou, with headquarters in Dubai and a user base the firm puts at more than 80 million. Its European arm, Bybit EU Group, is headquartered in Vienna and has been building out a separately structured, locally regulated business for the region since 2025.
Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) is the country's integrated financial supervisor, responsible for banks, insurers, securities markets and — since the EU's crypto rules came into force — crypto-asset service providers and e-money institutions. It was among the first European regulators to begin implementing MiCAR.
An EMI licence authorises a firm to issue electronic money and provide payment services across the European Economic Area under the EU's e-money and payment services regimes, subject to capital, safeguarding and conduct requirements. In practice it is the permission that lets a non-bank hold customer funds as e-money and move them.
Two entities, two rulebooks
Crypto-asset services on Bybit.eu are provided separately by Bybit EU GmbH, the Austrian crypto-asset service provider authorised under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), the EU's harmonised framework for crypto-asset issuance and services, since May 2025. That authorisation allows the firm to passport regulated crypto services across the EEA, with the exception of Malta.
The separation between the two Austrian companies is deliberate and regulatory in nature. Bybit EU GmbH holds the MiCAR authorisation for crypto-asset services; Bybit Payments GmbH holds the EMI licence for electronic money and payments. Each will operate strictly within its own permissions, with both sets of services surfaced to customers through the single Bybit.eu front end.
"Europe is setting the global benchmark for how digital assets and financial services can evolve together under clear regulation. The EMI licence granted to Bybit Payments GmbH is an important milestone in our long-term commitment to Europe. Together with the MiCAR authorisation held by Bybit EU GmbH, it creates complementary regulatory foundations for connecting crypto-assets, payments and everyday financial services through the Bybit.eu platform." - Georg Harer, Managing director at Bybit EU GmbH and Bybit Payments GmbH.
What the licence opens up
The EMI permission gives Bybit Payments GmbH the regulatory basis to build out payment functionality over time. The announcement points to person-to-person payments, e-money services, Strong Customer Authentication — the two-factor verification standard mandated under the EU's second Payment Services Directive, open banking functionality, merchant payment solutions and possible card initiatives, each to be introduced as the relevant requirements are met.
"This licence enables Bybit Payments GmbH to build regulated payment capabilities that complement the crypto-asset services offered by Bybit EU GmbH. Maintaining a clear distinction between the two regulated entities is fundamental. Each entity will provide services within its own permissions, while customers will be able to access those services through the Bybit.eu platform." - Bernhard Krick, Managing director at Bybit Payments GmbH.
There is a commercial angle too. The licence is expected to help Bybit Payments GmbH build direct relationships with financial institutions, payment providers and enterprise partners, and over time lean less heavily on third-party payment infrastructure — a recurring cost and dependency for crypto platforms that rely on external processors for fiat rails.
Part of a wider push
Bybit set out a strategy in January under the banner of becoming a "new financial platform" — the hashtag attached to this announcement — extending beyond exchange services into banking, investment and payments infrastructure. In Europe specifically, the group launched the MiCAR-compliant Bybit.eu platform in July 2025 and has separately applied for an investment firm licence under Austria's implementation of MiFID II, through Bybit X GmbH, which would allow it to offer regulated derivatives such as futures and options to EEA clients.
It seems that the Bybit group is assembling a full stack of European permissions under separate legal entities feeding one customer-facing platform: crypto, payments and (if approved) derivatives.
Product launch dates and details of the Europe-wide rollout are yet to be confirmed, with the company saying more will follow in the near future.
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