Bybit has obtained an Electronic Money Institution licence in Austria, allowing its payments subsidiary to offer regulated services across the EU.
The Vienna-based entity can now issue electronic money and provide payment services under Austria's Payment Services Act 2018, including incoming and outgoing payments, payment transactions, and the issuing and acquiring of payment instruments.
Bybit Payments GmbH will operate independently from Bybit EU GmbH, which handles the exchange's crypto-asset services under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. Following this announcement, customers will access both service categories through a single interface, Bybit.eu, though each subsidiary remains accountable only for the activities covered by its own authorisation.
Bernhard Krick, managing director of Bybit Payments GmbH, said the new licence allows the subsidiary to build regulated payment capabilities that complement the crypto-asset services offered by the group's MiCA-authorised entity, adding that maintaining a clear separation between the two companies is necessary given their distinct regulatory scopes. Georg Harer, managing director of Bybit EU GmbH and Bybit Payments GmbH, described the EMI licence and the MiCA authorisation as forming complementary regulatory foundations for the group's payments and crypto-asset activities in Europe.
The distinction reflects the broader regulatory divide in Europe between electronic money supervision and crypto-asset oversight: an EMI licence covers fiat-linked payment activity, while MiCA governs services such as trading, custody, and transfers of crypto-assets.
Bybit said the payments unit could eventually introduce person-to-person transfers, electronic money products, and Strong Customer Authentication features. Open Banking tools, merchant payment services, and payment cards are also under consideration, though all remain subject to further regulatory approval. No launch schedule or priority markets have been specified.
The Austrian authorisation adds to Bybit's expansion through locally supervised subsidiaries. In July 2026, the exchange launched a domestic platform in Indonesia after acquiring a majority stake in PT Enkripsi Teknologi Handal, formerly NOBI, establishing Bybit Indonesia as an entity supervised by the country's Financial Services Authority (OJK), with plans to support more than 500 trading pairs.
EU approach differs from US framework
The Austrian licence does not extend Bybit.eu's services to customers in the US. European authorisations generally apply within the European Economic Area and do not substitute for federal or state approvals required to serve US customers. The US has no direct equivalent to MiCA's single regional framework, meaning crypto companies offering payment services there typically navigate a mix of federal requirements and state-by-state money transmitter licensing.
The Austrian approval gives Bybit a coordinated regulatory route for combining fiat payment services with crypto trading in Europe. Converting the licence into consumer-facing products will depend on further regulatory clearances, technical integration, and decisions on which markets receive the initial rollout.
