Bybit EU Expands Stablecoin Access in Europe
Bybit EU, the European branch of the crypto-asset provider, announced new campaigns to expand access to the USDC and EURC stablecoins in Europe. The Vienna-based firm, which is licensed under MiCA, aims to promote responsible participation on its regulated platform.
- Bybit's move follows its licensing under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, obtained from Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA). This license can be "passported," allowing Bybit to offer regulated services to nearly 500 million people across 29 countries in the European Economic Area. - The featured stablecoins, USDC and EURC, are issued by Circle, which is regulated as a licensed Electronic Money Institution in France, ensuring its tokens comply with MiCA's full-reserve model. Bybit's initial campaign focuses on "Earn" products to promote financial literacy and structured engagement with these assets. - The push into euro-denominated stablecoins enters a market with huge growth potential; the euro-pegged stablecoin market was valued at about €650 million at the end of 2025, compared to nearly $300 billion for USD-pegged stablecoins. - This initiative comes as a consortium of nine major European banks, including ING, UniCredit, and Danske Bank, is developing its own euro stablecoin, expected to launch in the second half of 2026 to provide a European alternative to US-dominated offerings. - The primary institutional use case for stablecoins driving adoption is the improvement of cross-border payments and B2B transactions, which accounted for approximately 60% of global stablecoin payment volume in 2025. - Stablecoins offer near-instant, 24/7 settlement, presenting a direct challenge to traditional payment rails and even newer real-time payment networks like RTP and FedNow by reducing settlement cycles and counterparty risk. - Under MiCA, licensed firms like Bybit must comply with strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, including mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) identity verification for all users. - The euro stablecoin market has been slow to develop despite the regulatory clarity from MiCA. For example, a euro stablecoin launched by Société Générale has seen minimal adoption, highlighting the challenge of competing with the deep liquidity and ecosystem integration of US dollar-based stablecoins like USDC.
