Bybit has obtained a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA), allowing the exchange to expand into the European market.

The approval allows Bybit EU, registered under commercial number 636180i, to operate as a regulated crypto asset service provider (CASP) and extend its services across all 29 European Economic Area member states.

As part of its expansion, Bybit has officially established its European headquarters in Vienna, Austria, according to a May 29 news release shared with Cointelegraph.

The move enables the platform to serve nearly 500 million Europeans under MiCA’s harmonized framework, which is designed to promote regulatory consistency, prevent illicit activity and protect consumers.

“Securing the MiCAR license in Austria is a testament to our compliance-first approach at Bybit,” said Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit. “We are actively collaborating with regulators and pursuing licenses globally to ensure our users can access our innovative platform with the highest levels of regulatory and compliance assurance.”

Bybit listing on the FMA website. Source: FMA

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Bybit to hire over 100 in Vienna

Bybit will also hire over 100 staff in Vienna to support its European operations and offer localized crypto services tailored to EU regulations. “Vienna is now the home of Bybit Europe,” said Mazurka Zeng, CEO of Bybit Europe:

“We’re proud to contribute to Austria’s forward-looking financial environment by investing in talent and innovation.”

The firm also plans to work closely with universities across the region through its Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) initiative to promote blockchain technology.

The MiCA framework became enforceable in early 2025, prompting crypto companies to establish regulated bases within the bloc to legally expand their services across borders.

Related: Bybit recovers liquidity levels 30 days after hack — Kaiko

Bybit becomes second-largest exchange

Founded in 2018 and now based in Dubai, Bybit ranks as the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap. The company relocated its global headquarters from Singapore to Dubai in 2022.

The regulatory win comes after Bybit suffered a massive breach in February 2025. The attack led to the loss of $1.5 billion in assets, making it the largest crypto theft on record.

On May 9, German law enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen during the Bybit hack.

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Russian banks have started rolling out crypto investment products tied to the price of Bitcoin following a greenlight from the central bank.

The Bank of Russia has officially permitted financial institutions to offer certain cryptocurrency-based financial instruments to accredited investors.

Russian banks are now free to provide qualified investors with a range of crypto products, including crypto derivatives, securities and other digital financial assets tied to crypto prices, the central bank announced on May 28.

A key stipulation, however, is that these products must not involve the “actual delivery of cryptocurrencies,” the Bank of Russia emphasized.

The announcement came alongside the Bank of Russia reporting a 51% increase in crypto asset inflows by Russian residents in the first quarter of 2025, totaling 7.3 trillion rubles ($81.5 billion).

T-Bank among the first to offer Bitcoin investment products

Some major Russian banks have started rolling out cryptocurrency investment products immediately following the Bank of Russia’s announcement.

T-Bank (formerly Tinkoff Bank), one of the largest commercial banks in Russia, on May 29 announced the offering of digital financial assets (DFA) tied to Bitcoin (BTC).

An excerpt from T-Bank’s announcement (translated by Google). Source: T-Bank

“The tool allows you to invest in cryptocurrency in rubles through a familiar application — safely and within the legal framework of the Russian Federation, without opening an account on a crypto exchange and difficulties with protecting your wallet,” the bank said.

T-Bank’s new “smart asset” offering is issued through the Russian state-backed tokenization platform Atomyze and is available exclusively to accredited investors.

Direct crypto investments still not encouraged

While greenlighting local lenders to offer crypto products, the Russian central bank still maintains a restrictive approach regarding direct cryptocurrency investment.

“The Bank of Russia still does not recommend financial institutions and their clients to invest directly in cryptocurrencies,” the Bank of Russia said in a statement.

Related: Russia arrests Blum co-founder Vladimir Smerkis on fraud charges

The central bank also mentioned the ongoing government discussions on the potential launch of an experimental regime that would allow certain investors to trade crypto assets like Bitcoin directly.

Russia’s estimated CEX holdings are at $9.2 billion

In its latest financial stability review, the Bank of Russia estimated Russians’ crypto holdings on centralized exchanges (CEXs) at 827 billion rubles ($9.2 billion).

According to the authority, Bitcoin is leading Russians’ CEX holdings with a 62% share, with Ether (ETH) following at 22%. Stablecoins like Tether USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) ranked third with a share of 15.9%.

Some local crypto enthusiasts observed that the actual figure of cryptocurrency held by Russians is significantly bigger than the estimated CEX holdings reported by the Bank of Russia.

“I know that [Pavel] Durov and [Alexey] Bilyuchenko alone have more money in their wallets than this amount,” Sergey Mendeleev, founder of the digital settlement exchange Exved, wrote on his Telegram channel. He hinted that Russians hold way bigger crypto amounts in wallets and decentralized exchanges.

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