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Bybit just got a meaningful regulatory win in Europe. Bybit Payments GmbH — the exchange’s dedicated payments arm — has received an electronic money institution license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority, opening the door to a broad set of payment services across the European Economic Area.
The license isn’t just a rubber stamp. It lets Bybit Payments GmbH build and roll out person-to-person payments, merchant payment solutions, open banking features, and card products — basically a full stack of financial services that goes well beyond crypto trading. All of it will plug into Bybit.eu, the exchange’s European platform, which has been running under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation since May 2025. Coverage spans the EEA, with one notable carve-out: Malta is excluded, though Bybit hasn’t said why.
That Malta gap is worth flagging.
The company only said its services will be available in jurisdictions that meet MiCA passporting requirements. Whether Malta’s exclusion is a regulatory friction point, a commercial decision, or something else entirely — unclear. Bybit didn’t specify. It’s probably not a huge deal operationally, but it’s the kind of detail that tends to matter later when regulators start asking questions.
Two Entities, Two Regulatory Lanes
Bybit was pretty deliberate about how it’s structured this. Bybit Payments GmbH and Bybit EU GmbH are kept separate, each carrying its own regulatory permissions. Bybit EU GmbH handles the crypto side — custody, exchange, placement, and transfer services. Bybit Payments GmbH takes the payments lane — regulated electronic money and all the infrastructure that goes with it.
It’s a clean split on paper. And it’s not accidental. Running two distinct entities means each one can stay focused on its own compliance obligations without the two sets of rules bleeding into each other. For a company that’s trying to operate across dozens of jurisdictions simultaneously, that kind of structural clarity can make a real difference when regulators come knocking.
European crypto firms have been wrestling with exactly this problem for the past few years. MiCA brought some order to the crypto side of things, but payment services sit under a different regulatory regime — the Electronic Money Directive and the Payment Services Directive — and mixing the two without a clean separation can create compliance headaches fast. Bybit seems to have thought that through.
What the Austrian License Actually Unlocks
The bigger play here is probably about reducing third-party dependency. Right now, like most crypto exchanges operating in Europe, Bybit relies on outside payment providers to move fiat in and out of the platform. That’s expensive, slow, and gives someone else a choke point in your business. An EMI license changes that math.
With Bybit Payments GmbH licensed directly, the company can start building tighter relationships with banks and payment networks on its own terms. Merchant solutions and open banking features, in particular, are the kind of products that could let Bybit embed itself more deeply into how European businesses and consumers handle money — not just crypto, but payments broadly. That’s a different kind of business than running an exchange.
Card products are also on the list. No details yet on what those look like or when they’d launch. Bybit didn’t get into specifics on timeline or product design. But card issuance is a natural extension of an EMI license, and it’s probably where the user-facing part of this gets most visible.
The integration of all these services into Bybit.eu is the end goal — a single platform where European users can handle both crypto and payment needs without bouncing between providers. That’s a harder thing to build than it sounds. But the regulatory foundation, at least, is now in place.
Austria as a Gateway
Austria has become a reasonably attractive licensing jurisdiction for crypto and fintech firms looking for an EEA foothold. The Financial Market Authority has processed a number of applications from firms wanting to passport services across the bloc, and the MiCA framework has made that passporting more straightforward than it used to be.
For Bybit, getting the Austrian EMI license alongside its existing MiCA-compliant crypto entity gives it two parallel regulatory pillars in Europe. That’s a stronger position than most exchanges had even two years ago, when the regulatory picture across the EU was still pretty fragmented.
The company’s broader push in Europe has been building for a while. Bybit.eu went live under MiCA in May 2025, and the payments license is the next logical piece. Whether the card products and merchant solutions actually gain traction is a separate question — competition in European payments is fierce, and Bybit is entering a space where established players have deep roots.
Malta stays excluded for now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What services does Bybit Payments GmbH’s new Austrian license cover?
The license covers person-to-person payments, merchant payment solutions, open banking features, and card products, all to be integrated into Bybit.eu across the European Economic Area.
Why is Malta excluded from Bybit’s European payment services?
Bybit hasn’t given a specific reason. The company said services are available only in jurisdictions meeting MiCA passporting requirements, but didn’t explain why Malta falls outside that scope.
