Bybit Eyes All-in-One Financial Platform for Europe with Crypto, Stocks, and Banking Services

Key Highlights

• The exchange secured a MiCA license from Austria, enabling operations across the European Union, and is awaiting MiFID II approval for derivatives and traditional equities trading
• Ben Zhou, the company’s CEO, envisions a comprehensive banking experience complete with IBAN accounts, salary deposits, and domestic payment capabilities
• The platform is working toward obtaining an electronic money institution license to complement its MiCA and MiFID II credentials for a complete European service offering
• Following MiFID II approval, the platform would enable customers to manage traditional stocks like Apple and Tesla alongside digital assets in a unified interface
• The exchange maintains its position as the leading global partner for Kraken’s xStocks tokenized equity platform

Bybit, recognized as one of the planet’s most active cryptocurrency trading venues by volume, is constructing an integrated European solution that enables customers to engage with digital currencies, manage traditional securities, and utilize derivative products through a single interface.

Bybit adds EMI and MiFID licenses to launch EU ‘super app’ with stocks, derivatives

Bybit, serving 80 million users, has secured an electronic money institution license from Austria’s FMA and will obtain a MiFID license within two months, CEO Ben Zhou said. The move allows… pic.twitter.com/ONOLQxX1hQ

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Established in 2018 and headquartered in Dubai, the platform supports a user base exceeding 80 million individuals worldwide. The company currently operates under a MiCA license issued by Austria’s Financial Market Authority, granting operational permissions throughout European Union territories.

The expansion plans extend beyond current authorizations. Through its registered entity Bybit X GmbH, the organization has submitted an application for MiFID II licensing. Approval would authorize the platform to provide regulated derivative instruments including futures and options, plus direct access to traditional equity markets such as U.S.-listed companies.

Speaking with CoinDesk, CEO Ben Zhou outlined his vision for a service comparable to Revolut but with integrated cryptocurrency capabilities. “With these three licenses, we will become kind of like Revolut, plus what is currently offered by Bybit,” he explained.

Revolut operates with comprehensive banking authorization in both the European Union and United Kingdom, supporting approximately 80 million users with a company valuation reaching around $115 billion as of July.

Zhou has spoken candidly about the limitations of operating solely under MiCA regulations. The regulatory compliance burden is substantial, while competition from established multi-service financial platforms remains intense.

“We’ve been running the MiCA license for about a year now. It is not profitable,” Zhou acknowledged. “Unless you have all the bells and whistles, clients won’t shift just because you have something called crypto.”

Traditional Banking Capabilities on the Horizon

Securing the electronic money institution authorization will enable the platform to provide customers with individual IBAN accounts, salary deposit functionality, bill payment services, and domestic money transfer capabilities. This represents the fundamental banking infrastructure supporting the trading operations.

According to Zhou, the MiFID authorization should arrive within approximately two months. Upon receiving approval, the company intends to establish relationships with brokers such as Alpaca or Saxo Bank to facilitate traditional stock trading access.

“Clients can hold Apple and Tesla in their account, and then they can even trade contracts for difference, gold, silver, commodities, oil, all of that,” Zhou detailed.

Navigating a Competitive Landscape

The market entry comes amid significant existing competition. Major platforms including Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp have obtained or are pursuing European authorizations under MiCA regulations. Binance maintains operations through multiple national registrations across the continent. OKX has similarly been strengthening its European presence.

Bybit’s differentiation stems from its comprehensive licensing approach spanning MiCA, MiFID II, and EMI authorizations. The majority of cryptocurrency platforms have limited their regulatory efforts to MiCA compliance alone.

The platform maintains its collaboration with Kraken’s xStocks offering for tokenized stock products. Zhou verified that Bybit continues as the xStocks program’s most significant international partner.

Current European customers can access spot market trading and margin trading restricted to 10x leverage. This leverage limitation aligns with European investor safeguard regulations, which impose tighter restrictions compared to the platform’s international offerings.

The MiFID II licensing request was filed in September 2025. Regulatory authorities have not yet announced a decision timeline.