Today in crypto, Bybit has received regulatory approval under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and has opened its European headquarters in Vienna, former US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam said the agency should be given new authority to police crypto, and BlackRock is reportedly seeking to acquire a 10% stake in Circle ahead of its initial public offering (IPO).
Bybit secures MiCA license in Austria, opens EU base in Vienna
Bybit has obtained a 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.”
Crypto vulnerable if CFTC not given authority: Ex-chair Behnam
Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam said on May 28 that the crypto market will remain unregulated unless the agency he led is given greater authority.
Behnam argued in a Bloomberg TV interview that “the few largest tokens are commodities” and the Securities and Exchange Commission cannot properly regulate crypto because it can’t regulate commodities and the CFTC can’t regulate crypto because it is a derivatives regulator.
He said that without new authority for the CFTC to regulate “cash markets in digital assets, non-securities,” then crypto will remain an unregulated space.
“Ultimately, until we do something, the [crypto] market will remain unregulated,” Behnam said. “Customers, investors, retail and institutional, will be more vulnerable to harm, fraud, manipulation and conflicts of interest, until the market is regulated.”
BlackRock eyes 10% stake in Circle’s IPO — Report
BlackRock is reportedly planning to take a significant stake in Circle’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO).
According to a May 28 Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources, BlackRock is looking to purchase roughly 10% of the offering. Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, is aiming to raise $624 million in its initial public offering.
Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management is also interested in buying $150 million worth of shares in the offering, the report said.
Circle launched its offering of 24 million shares of Class A common stock on May 27. The offering consists of shares from the company as well as shares of existing stakeholders, including co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire. According to the report, Circle’s IPO has now received orders for multiple times the shares available.
The company filed for an initial public offering on April 1, but delayed plans citing economic uncertainty. Crypto firms Ripple and Coinbase were reportedly exploring a potential acquisition of Circle. The company has since dismissed the speculation, saying it “is not for sale.”