Bybit Plans European Super App With Stocks and Regulated Derivatives
Crypto exchange Bybit is preparing to launch a European “super app” that would combine its existing spot cryptocurrency services with regulated derivatives, tokenized stocks and functions similar to those offered by a traditional bank account.
The Dubai-based exchange has received an electronic money institution (EMI) license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA), Bybit founder and CEO Ben Zhou said in an interview with CoinDesk. The approval represents another step in the company’s effort to broaden its regulated financial services in Europe.
Bybit already holds a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license in Austria, which provides access to the wider European Union market. Zhou said the company is also close to obtaining a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) license, which would allow it to offer financial products including debt securities and derivatives.
Zhou said the combination of the three licenses could allow Bybit to build an offering comparable to Revolut while retaining the cryptocurrency products available through its existing platform.
“With these three licenses, we will become kind of like Revolut, plus what is currently offered by Bybit,” Zhou said. “And this is all completely regulated and compliant, and I'm quite excited about it. Because there are not many other regions where you can do that.”
Bybit Expands European Licensing Strategy
Bybit was founded in 2018 and serves more than 80 million users, according to the source material. The company is seeking to expand beyond cryptocurrency trading as competition in Europe increasingly includes financial technology platforms offering a broader range of services.
The EMI license is expected to cover most of the functions Bybit wants to introduce through its planned all-in-one application, according to Zhou. The MiFID license would add another layer of financial product capabilities, particularly for regulated derivatives and securities.
The strategy reflects Bybit’s assessment that a cryptocurrency-focused license alone may not provide enough products to compete effectively in the European market.
“For the EU, the fact is you need multiple licenses to compete and actually to turn a profitable business,” Zhou said. “The cost of getting a MiCA license is not so cheap. To be frank, we've been running the MiCA license for about a year now. It is not profitable.”
Bybit’s European expansion therefore centers not only on regulatory access but also on the economics of operating under those requirements.
Competition With Revolut and Other Financial Apps
Zhou pointed to Revolut as one of the major competitors Bybit faces in the European market.
Revolut was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in London. It now has a full banking license in the European Union and the United Kingdom and serves more than 80 million customers globally. The fintech was valued at about $115 billion in July, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Bybit’s challenge is to persuade users to adopt a broader financial platform rather than limiting its European proposition to cryptocurrency services.
“Unless you have all the bells and whistles and product lines, clients won't shift just simply because you have something called crypto,” Zhou said. “So there is the compliance burden, there’s the competitive environment. But what makes EU quite interesting is that you can present, in a very compliant way, the one super app.”
The comments underline Bybit’s effort to position cryptocurrency services alongside more traditional financial products rather than relying solely on crypto trading to attract European customers.
Tokenized Stocks and Derivatives Form Part of Broader Offering
The planned application would add tokenized stocks and regulated derivatives to Bybit’s existing spot crypto trading capabilities.
The broader product mix would give European users access to several types of financial exposure through a single platform, subject to the applicable regulatory framework and licensing requirements.
Bybit’s approach also reflects the company’s view that regulatory compliance and product breadth are increasingly important for competing in Europe. Zhou said the MiCA license alone had not yet produced a profitable operation, citing both compliance costs and competition from companies with wider financial product offerings.
The company’s planned combination of EMI, MiCA and MiFID permissions is intended to provide the regulatory foundation for a broader European financial platform.
For Bybit, the objective is to compete not simply as a cryptocurrency exchange but as a regulated financial application offering crypto alongside traditional and tokenized financial products.
Source: CoinDesk
Writer: Marcus RenfieldCrypto Market Analyst & Onchain WriterMarcus Renfield covers cryptocurrency markets with a focus on onchain data, Bitcoin price action, and emerging market narratives. His writing examines how capital flows, network activity, and broader market structure influence short- and medium-term trends.He aims to provide clear, data-informed analysis for readers seeking a deeper understanding of crypto market dynamics.