The Bybit EU anniversary campaign runs from 17 July to 16 August 2026, offering up to 200% APR on USDC, a ā¬30 Bitcoin welcome gift and up to ā¬500 in referral BTC to mark the exchange’s first year under an Austrian MiCAR licence. It lands weeks after the EU’s MiCAR transition closed on 1 July, the deadline that steered European users toward licensed platforms.
| What you need to know |
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| 1Bybit EU turns one, a year after Austria's FMA granted its MiCAR licence on 28 May 2025; the anniversary campaign runs 17 July to 16 August 2026. |
| 2Headline rewards per Bybit EU: up to 200% APR on USDC for new users on a 15-day term, ā¬30 in BTC after a ā¬100 top-up, up to ā¬500 referral BTC and up to 10% Bybit Card cashback. |
| 3The MiCAR transition period ended 1 July 2026; ESMA told unlicensed providers to stop onboarding EU users and wind down, steering Europeans toward authorised platforms. |
| 4Takeaway: the headline rates are short annualised teasers with eligibility caps, so weigh the licence and the terms before the number. It is a marketing communication, not investment advice. |
Why the birthday comes with rewards
The reason for the generosity sits in the calendar. The MiCAR transition period, which let exchanges keep trading under old national rules while they applied for a licence, expired on 1 July 2026. On 23 June, the European Securities and Markets Authority told unauthorised providers to stop onboarding EU clients and wind down in an orderly way. Platforms without an authorisation could no longer sign up new users in the European Economic Area, and that left a large group of Europeans looking for a compliant home. Courting them with rewards is a direct way to win the switch.
Bybit EU is well-placed to make that pitch. Bybit’s European arm, Bybit EU GmbH, went live at bybit.eu in July 2025 after Austria’s Financial Market Authority granted it a MiCAR licence on 28 May 2025, recorded in the FMA’s public register. That single authorisation lets a Vienna-based entity passport regulated crypto services across the EEA, with Malta the only excluded market. The anniversary event follows the exchange’s earlier new-user bonus offers, keeping the momentum running into August.
What the Bybit EU anniversary puts on the table
According to the campaign page, the rewards split into four buckets, open to onboarded users across the EEA except Malta. New sign-ups who top up at least ā¬100 within seven days receive ā¬30 in Bitcoin. A referral track pays ā¬25 in BTC per qualified friend, up to ā¬500. The Bybit Card returns up to 10% cashback, capped at ā¬110, in the first 30 days. And the headline: up to 200% APR on a USDC fixed-earn strategy.
The 200% figure rewards a second look because APR annualises a rate you earn only for a short spell. The boosted rate applies to new users for a 15-day term. Held flat across those 15 days, 200% APR comes to roughly 8.2% on the locked USDC before the rate steps down to the standard flexible tier of up to 10% APR. Existing users get 50% APR for seven days, closer to 1% over the week. The rewards are genuine, and Bybit EU carries its label, calling the campaign a marketing communication rather than investment advice. The framing is simply built for a headline.
As the MiCAR transition progresses, users increasingly value clarity, continuity, and platforms designed with long-term regulatory readiness in mind.
Mazurka Zeng, CEO of Bybit EU, in the company’s June announcement
There is a softer play alongside the cash. Bybit EU is asking users to vote for one of six products, among them the Bybit Card and its DCA and spot-grid tools, with the winning feature earning a separate offer in September. Voting closes on 16 August. For a one-year-old business, it doubles as a cheap way to learn which features its European base actually uses.
If you are moving to a licensed platform
For European investors, and Dutch ones in particular, the reward size matters less than what the moment quietly confirms: a MiCAR licence has become the price of entry. Whoever your previous platform was, the practical question now is whether its replacement holds that authorisation. We put Bybit EU’s own onboarding claims through a hands-on MiCAR user-experience test, and the wider fight over compliant access runs beyond any single exchange, as our look at crypto banking access under MiCA-style rules shows.
Keep the reward math in proportion to the assets it pays out in. Bitcoin traded near $65,893 on 22 July, down roughly 48% from its October 2025 record of $126,080 (CoinGecko, 11:47 UTC). A ā¬30 or ā¬500 BTC bonus is a fixed euro amount, so its coin value drifts with the market once it lands. The eye-catching numbers also carry the tightest strings, from the ā¬100 top-up on the welcome gift to the 15-day window on the 200% rate.
This article is informational and not financial advice. Crypto assets carry a risk of loss. Do your own research into liquidity, custody, tax treatment and risk tolerance. Consult an independent adviser before committing capital.
