Bybit has secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) on August 4, 2026, according to reports from PRNewswire. The license allows Bybit Payments GmbH to issue electronic money and provide regulated payment services under Austria's Payment Services Act 2018. The authorization covers incoming and outgoing payments, payment transactions, and issuing and acquiring payment instruments, as detailed in the FMA's licensing notice. As per PRNewswire, this approval represents an important milestone in the company's long-term commitment to Europe and creates complementary regulatory foundations for connecting crypto-assets, payments and everyday financial services through the Bybit.eu platform. The approval specifically grants the exchange the right to issue electronic money, provide payment services, and operate current accounts with dedicated IBANs across the European Economic Area, as reported by CoinStats.
The Austrian approval establishes a separate regulatory structure where Bybit Payments GmbH operates independently from Bybit EU GmbH, which handles crypto-asset services under MiCA authorization. According to PRNewswire, Georg Harer, managing director at Bybit EU GmbH and Bybit Payments GmbH, stated that Europe's regulatory approach is setting a global benchmark for how digital assets and financial services can evolve together under clear regulation. Under the new structure, Bybit Payments GmbH will provide e-money and payment services, while Bybit EU GmbH will continue to deliver crypto-asset services under its existing MiCAR license. Bernhard Krick, managing director of Bybit Payments GmbH, emphasized that maintaining a clear distinction between the two regulated entities is fundamental, with each entity providing services within its own permissions while customers can access both through the Bybit.eu platform. As reported by Coingape, the company said both entities will remain legally separate while operating through the same platform to provide customers with a unified experience.
The EMI license provides Bybit Payments GmbH with a critical capability that pure crypto venues typically lack: the ability to handle euro-denominated balances natively, without leaning on third-party banking partners. This positions Bybit in a small but growing group of exchanges that want to look less like offshore trading venues and more like integrated financial service providers. The Austrian license is not a MiCA authorisation itself, but the two licences can be combined into a single entity structure that lets a firm operate both crypto and e-money services under one roof, as reported by CoinStats. This architecture is exactly what platforms need if they expect to serve European retail and institutional users over the next five years. The company is considering person-to-person transfers, electronic money products, and Strong Customer Authentication features, though specific timelines for product rollout remain undisclosed. As reported by CoinDesk, the EMI license will allow Bybit to issue digital money, provide IBAN accounts, and process payments across the EU through passporting.
The EMI license creates significant opportunities for Bybit to introduce additional financial products across Europe, with the company planning to develop payment transfers, electronic money services, open banking features, merchant payment tools, and future card programs. These services will launch gradually as regulatory requirements permit, as reported by PRNewswire. Additionally, Bybit expects the license to strengthen partnerships with banks, payment providers, and enterprise clients while aiming to reduce its dependence on external payment infrastructure and support its broader European growth strategy. The move also reflects Europe's growing focus on combining digital assets with traditional financial services under a structured regulatory framework, positioning Bybit to serve as a comprehensive financial services provider across the region. This aligns with the company's earlier launch of Bybit TradFi, as reported by CoinDesk, as part of a wave of crypto exchanges adding products beyond digital assets, such as FX and CFDs trading.
Bybit is not alone in maintaining separate regulatory entities for crypto and payments services. Kraken has held an EMI authorisation for its Irish entity since 2023 and added a MiCA licence from the same regulator a year later, with the EMI licence covering 27 EU states while the MiCA licence passports across the 30-country EEA. Crypto.com took the opposite approach, holding an EMI licence in Malta since 2021 and adding MiCA authorisation in January 2025, before returning to the MFSA in February 2026 for a separate Limited Financial Institutions licence covering stablecoin services. As reported by CoinDesk, no single EU licence yet covers crypto custody and payment services together, forcing platforms to assemble the two functions from separate approvals as each product line requires distinct regulatory compliance. Bybit has not launched any payment features enabled by the EMI licence, with the company stating further details on product launches and the wider European rollout will follow.
