Crypto exchange Bybit is preparing to launch a European “super-app” that will combine traditional banking-style services with crypto trading, stocks and regulated derivatives. The Dubai-based exchange says the plan will build on its existing crypto business and use additional European regulatory licences.
Bybit already has a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) licence in Austria and has received an electronic money institution (EMI) licence from Austria’s Financial Market Authority. It is also preparing for a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) licence, which would allow it to offer a wider range of financial products.
This is what building the New Financial Platform looks like 🇪🇺
Local access, regulated and trusted infrastructure, and more ways for users to move across finance. https://t.co/jYzOygmoMe
— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) September 11, 2026
Bybit founder and CEO Ben Zhou described the planned service as something similar to Revolut combined with the company’s existing crypto platform.
The EMI licence is particularly important because it could allow customers to have their own payment accounts and carry out third-party transfers. Zhou said the longer-term vision is for users to have an account and IBAN through Bybit, receive salaries, pay bills and make local transfers, while also being able to use stablecoins and cryptocurrencies.
That would represent a significant change from the traditional image of a crypto exchange. Instead of being primarily a place to buy and sell digital assets, Bybit wants to become a broader financial platform.
The company believes multiple licences are necessary to compete in the European market. Zhou acknowledged that obtaining and operating under MiCA is expensive and said Bybit’s European MiCA operation has not yet become profitable.
Competition is another challenge. European consumers already have access to financial apps offering payments, banking services, investments and other products. Bybit therefore believes it needs a much wider product range if it wants customers to switch simply because it offers crypto.
The planned MiFID licence could expand that range considerably. According to Zhou, it would allow Bybit to offer regulated derivatives and potentially provide access to real-world stocks and other financial products.
Customers could eventually be able to hold shares such as Apple and Tesla through the platform. The company also sees opportunities in contracts for difference and exposure to commodities such as gold, silver and oil, subject to the applicable regulations.
Bybit is not planning to build every product itself. The exchange already works with partners for tokenised equities. Its partnership with Kraken’s xStocks product will continue, with Bybit acting as a major partner for tokenised stocks.
This reflects a broader trend among crypto companies in Europe. Exchanges are increasingly looking beyond spot cryptocurrency trading and trying to combine crypto with payments, traditional securities and regulated investment products.
For Bybit, the European market presents both an opportunity and a challenge. A single, regulated application that brings together payments, crypto and traditional financial products could appeal to users who do not want to manage several separate financial platforms.
But regulation will remain central to the plan. Bybit will have to operate within the requirements attached to its different licences, while competing with established financial technology companies that already have large customer bases.
The company’s ambitions are therefore much broader than simply launching another crypto product. Bybit wants to become a one-stop financial app where users can hold money, make payments, trade crypto, invest in stocks and access regulated derivatives.
Whether European customers will embrace that model remains to be seen, but the strategy shows how crypto exchanges are increasingly trying to move into the wider financial-services market.
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