MEXC to Offboard Dutch Users, Recommends MiCAR-Authorised Bybit EU as Alternative

Europe's post-MiCA client migration now has its first clearly signposted route: MEXC has recommended MiCAR-authorised Bybit EU to Dutch customers ahead of ending services in the Netherlands.

The arrangement does not transfer customer accounts or assets between the two exchanges. Dutch users choosing Bybit EU must register, complete its identity checks and move their crypto themselves. MEXC will contact affected customers with instructions and timelines, according to the announcement.

"Partnering with Bybit represents an important step in ensuring a secure, compliant, and seamless transition for our users," said Robert MacDonald, Chief Compliance Officer at MEXC. He cited Bybit's regulatory framework and its user-protection measures as the reasons behind the recommendation.

MiCA Licence Provides the Handover Route

MEXC does not appear in ESMA's latest register of authorised crypto-asset service providers. It therefore lacks the MiCA authorisation required to provide regulated crypto-asset services across the EEA after the applicable transition period. MiCA, the EU's common rulebook for crypto-assets, took full effect for crypto-asset service providers on 30 December 2024, with member states able to run transition periods of up to 18 months under their pre-existing national regimes.

A MiCA authorisation granted in one EU country can be passported across the EEA. Bybit EU's approved services include custody, crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto exchange, placing crypto-assets, and transfer services.

ESMA has identified two main routes for customers of unauthorised providers: transferring their assets to an authorised CASP, where one is identified, or moving them to a self-hosted wallet. The MEXC arrangement follows the first route, naming Bybit EU as the recommended destination. The offboarding, however, currently applies only to customers in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has operated one of Europe's stricter national regimes: crypto firms have needed registration with the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, since 2020, and Binance withdrew from the country in 2023 without obtaining it. Bybit EU, by contrast, has held a CASP authorisation from Austria's Financial Market Authority since May 2025. Access to its global platform is being restricted, while the separately authorised Bybit EU entity continues serving the region through new, independently opened accounts.

A Named Destination and Sign-Up Incentives

Other licensed exchanges have reported receiving customers from departing rivals without formal referral agreements. In August, OKX Europe CEO Erald Ghoos told Finance Magnates that inflows from Binance-linked accounts had risen more than eightfold. OKX provided the figures, and no independent, market-wide breakdown was available. Those movements track Binance's wider European retreat, which began with the Dutch withdrawal and broadened in 2025 as the exchange began winding down services across the EEA.

MEXC, by contrast, has publicly selected Bybit EU as its recommended alternative. Eligible new customers can receive €30 in Bitcoin after topping up at least €100 within seven days, a seven-day VIP 1 trial with preferential fees, and a Bybit Card package worth up to €120.

Affected users are encouraged to move their assets by 31 October. MEXC's final offboarding date for customers in the Netherlands is 16 November 2026. Whether other departing exchanges adopt similar named-destination handovers, and whether MEXC extends the arrangement beyond the Netherlands, remains to be seen.