Crypto▲ Bullish
Bybit gets Austria EMI licence for EU payments push
Austria's FMA granted Bybit Payments GmbH an EMI licence, letting the Vienna unit run EU payments separately from its MiCA-licensed crypto arm.
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Austria's Financial Market Authority granted an Electronic Money Institution licence to Bybit Payments GmbH on Aug. 4, approving the company to issue electronic money and provide payment services across the European Union under the country's E-Money Act 2010 and Payment Services Act 2018.
The permissions cover outgoing and incoming payments, payment transactions, and the issuing and acquiring of payment instruments, according to the FMA's licensing notice. Bybit called the licence a regulated foundation for expanding financial services through Bybit.eu.
"Europe is setting the global benchmark for how digital assets and financial services can evolve together under clear regulation," said Georg Harer, managing director of Bybit EU GmbH and Bybit Payments GmbH. Harer said the EMI licence and Bybit's existing Markets in Crypto-Assets authorisation create complementary regulatory bases for crypto assets, payments and other financial services.
In practice the two authorisations stay separate. Bybit Payments GmbH, based in Vienna, will operate independently of Bybit EU GmbH, the subsidiary that holds Bybit's MiCA authorisation for crypto-asset services. Customers reach both through Bybit.eu, but each entity answers only for the activities its own licence covers.
Bernhard Krick, managing director of Bybit Payments GmbH, said the structure is deliberate. "This licence enables Bybit Payments GmbH to build regulated payment capabilities that complement the crypto-asset services offered by Bybit EU GmbH," Krick said, adding that a clear line between the two companies is essential because each must stay inside its approved regulatory scope.
The split mirrors Europe's separation of electronic money regulation from crypto-asset supervision. An EMI licence governs fiat-linked payment activity. A MiCA authorisation covers crypto trading, custody and transfers. Bybit's arrangement lets it offer one customer interface without merging payment and crypto operations under a single permission.