Why Is MEXC Leaving The Netherlands?
Crypto exchange MEXC will stop serving customers in the Netherlands in November and is directing affected users toward MiCA-authorised Bybit EU, showing how Europe’s new licensing regime is beginning to redistribute customers between crypto platforms.
Dutch MEXC customers are being encouraged to move their assets by Oct. 31, with final offboarding scheduled for Nov. 16, 2026. Users who choose Bybit EU must open a new account, complete identity verification and transfer their assets themselves.
No customer accounts, personal data or crypto holdings will move automatically between the two exchanges. MEXC is effectively recommending a destination rather than transferring its customer book.
Bybit EU confirmed the arrangement on Aug. 21. MEXC Chief Compliance Officer Robert MacDonald said the exchange selected Bybit because of its regulatory framework and customer-protection arrangements.
The relationship also carries a personnel connection. MacDonald joined MEXC in July after previously serving as Bybit’s chief legal and compliance officer, where his work included licensing, anti-money-laundering controls and regulatory matters.
Why Can Bybit Keep Serving Dutch Customers?
Bybit EU operates separately from Bybit’s global platform and received authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider from Austria’s Financial Market Authority in May 2025.
The approval covers custody, crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto exchange, placing crypto-assets and transfer services. Under MiCA’s passporting system, an authorised provider can offer approved services across other European Economic Area countries without obtaining a separate crypto licence in each market.
Bybit added another European permission this month when Austria’s regulator granted Bybit Payments GmbH an electronic-money institution licence on Aug. 4, allowing the company to issue electronic money and provide several payment services.
MEXC does not hold comparable MiCA authorisation. Dutch regulators had already raised concerns about that gap. The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets warned against MEXC in September 2025, saying it was actively providing crypto services to Dutch consumers without the required licence.
The regulator pointed to Dutch-language social media marketing and sponsorship of a local blockchain conference as evidence that MEXC was targeting customers in the country.
Investor Takeaway
MiCA licensing is becoming a customer-acquisition advantage. Exchanges that secured European approval can pick up active traders when unlicensed rivals are forced to reduce or end services.
How Is MiCA Changing Crypto Exchange Competition?
The Netherlands adopted a shorter MiCA transition period than the maximum allowed under EU law. Providers registered under the previous Dutch regime could continue operating without MiCA authorisation only until June 30, 2025.
Across the EU, the final grandfathering period expired on July 1, 2026. ESMA has said companies still providing covered crypto services without authorisation must stop and conduct an orderly wind-down.
One option is to return assets directly to customers, including transfers to self-hosted wallets. Another is to move clients toward an authorised crypto-asset service provider. The MEXC arrangement follows the second route while leaving customers free to choose another exchange or withdraw into self-custody.
Bybit is also attaching financial incentives to the migration. Eligible newcomers have been offered €30 in Bitcoin after depositing at least €100 within seven days, a seven-day VIP 1 trading-fee trial and a Bybit Card package with benefits worth up to €120.
That turns a regulatory exit into a customer-acquisition opportunity. Crypto exchanges traditionally spend heavily on advertising, sponsorships and referral programs to attract new traders. An offboarding event creates a concentrated group of existing crypto users who already understand exchanges and need somewhere else to trade.
Could MiCA Concentrate European Crypto Liquidity?
The MEXC-Bybit arrangement points to a larger consequence of MiCA: licences are becoming distribution assets rather than simply regulatory expenses.
MEXC remains a major global trading venue, but global volume does not give it automatic access to EU customers. Bybit EU may offer fewer products than an offshore exchange, yet its authorisation gives it access that unlicensed competitors no longer have.
That does not mean every customer leaving MEXC will move to Bybit. Some users may find that regulated European platforms do not offer the same tokens, leverage or derivatives available offshore. Others may move assets to self-custody or seek platforms outside the regulated EU system.
Still, every forced exit creates an opportunity for authorised providers to acquire users without finding them through traditional marketing channels. If referral arrangements become more common, customer flows could increasingly move from departing exchanges into a smaller group of MiCA-approved firms.
The Dutch case also shows that enforcement can take time. The AFM warned against MEXC in September 2025, months after the country’s transition period ended, yet final offboarding will not occur until November 2026.
The direction is clearer than the timetable. European crypto competition is increasingly being decided not only by fees, liquidity and product selection, but by which companies have regulatory permission to reach customers at all. For exchanges that invested early in MiCA approval, every rival departure can now become another route to market share.
