Bitget has appointed former Bitpanda chief legal officer Oliver Stauber as chief executive of Bitget EU to lead its MiCA expansion and establish a European headquarters in Vienna.
The exchange said its Austrian entity expects Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation approval in the second quarter of 2026 and will not serve European Economic Area users until authorisation is granted.
“Oliver’s appointment builds our confidence in Bitget’s long-term presence in Europe,”
Said Bitget chief executive Gracy Chen, citing his regulatory expertise and operational discipline.
Stauber said Bitget EU will ring-fence EEA users from the offshore platform through IP detection and enhanced know-your-customer controls to prevent unlicensed access.
The new entity will also apply strict token listing standards, with Stauber saying products that fail to meet MiCA disclosure, liquidity or market integrity requirements will not be offered to EU users.
Under its planned structure, Bitget EU will operate as a broker rather than an exchange, acting as counterparty to client trades while sourcing liquidity under best-execution principles and deploying market-abuse surveillance tools.
Vienna was chosen as the firm’s EU hub for its central location and regulatory stability, with existing EEA users set to migrate to Bitget EU once authorisation is secured.