Bybit CEO: EU Firms Need More Licenses to Profit
MiCA’s not enough: Bybit CEO says firms need other licenses to turn a profit in Europe
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, while important for regulatory clarity, is not sufficient on its own for crypto firms to operate profitably across the region.
In his comments, Zhou argued that companies seeking to build a sustainable business in Europe may need to secure additional regulatory permissions beyond a MiCA authorization, depending on the products they offer and how their services intersect with other parts of the financial system.
MiCA is the EU’s flagship crypto rulebook, designed to set common standards for crypto-asset issuance and service providers across member states. The regime is widely viewed as a major step toward harmonized oversight, replacing a patchwork of national rules with a shared licensing and compliance baseline.
Zhou’s remarks highlight a broader reality for crypto businesses operating in Europe: crypto regulation does not exist in isolation. Services such as payments, custody arrangements, fiat on-ramps, and other activities that touch traditional finance can trigger separate regulatory requirements. That can increase legal complexity and operational costs, even in a market with a single, high-profile crypto framework.
The takeaway for the industry is that MiCA may create a clearer entry point for crypto firms, but it does not necessarily eliminate the need to navigate other licensing regimes when building full-service offerings in the EU.
