What ZBX is
Founded in 2018 in St Julian's (Malta) by a team spread across Malta, Switzerland and Sweden, ZBX — operated by Zillion Bits Ltd — was born as a "regulation-ready" exchange under the Maltese VFA framework, with a Class 4 licence. Unlike many exchanges of its generation, it did not die: it came through the European regulatory transition and is today a crypto-asset services platform enabled for fiat (EUR), offering custody, transfers, OTC, exchange and a trading platform, addressing both retail and corporate clients with a regulated "crypto banking" positioning. The company draws on the technical solutions of Zillion Bits AG, a Swiss exchange technology provider. Its size remains small compared with the big global names: its stated strength is compliance, not volumes.
Regulation and licences
- MiCA: YES — Zillion Bits Ltd (ZBX) is authorised by the MFSA (Malta Financial Services Authority) as a CASP under the MiCA regulation; the authorisation notice dates from February 2025, among the very first issued in Malta alongside those of Crypto.com, OKX and Bitpanda. (Verified: October 2026)
- It appears in the European lists of authorised CASPs (ESMA register) and is on the French AMF white list for the free provision of services: custody and administration of crypto-assets, operation of a trading platform, exchange, order execution and transfers. (Verified: September 2026)
- It previously operated with a Class 4 VFA licence under the Maltese Virtual Financial Assets Act, later transitioned into the MiCA regime.
- ZBX can operate legally across the EU even after the expiry of the transitional regime (01/07/2026) — one of the not-so-frequent cases, among smaller exchanges of its generation, of an operator still active and duly authorised.
Security
- No breaches of customer funds are publicly known in the exchange's history: an absence of reports, which is not in itself proof that nothing has ever happened.
- Beware of clones: the MFSA has published official warnings against fraudulent sites usurping the ZBX name (including "zbx-exchanges.com" and "zbxchange.com"), which are NOT registered or authorised Maltese companies. The only legitimate domain is zbx.com. (Verified: September 2026)
Headquarters and contacts
- Zillion Bits Limited: Level 1/I, Centris Business Gateway, Triq Is-Salib tal-Imriehel, Central Business District, Birkirkara CBD3020, Malta (ESMA register, October 2026).
- Official website: https://www.zbx.com/
Alternatives
- Crypto.com — a MiCA CASP also authorised by the Maltese MFSA, with a far broader retail offering
- Kraken — full MiCA licence via the Central Bank of Ireland
- Bitstamp — another regulated European veteran
FAQ
- Is ZBX legal in the EU? Yes: Zillion Bits Ltd is authorised as a MiCA CASP by the Maltese MFSA (February 2025), with passporting valid across the entire European Economic Area, and therefore also after the tightening of 01/07/2026. (Verified: October 2026)
- Are ZBX and ZB.com the same thing? No. ZBX is the Maltese company Zillion Bits Ltd; ZB.com was an exchange of Chinese origin, involved in 2022 in a serious incident with suspended withdrawals. The two should not be confused, and there are also clone sites exploiting the ambiguity of the name.
- What services does ZBX offer today? Custody, transfers, OTC, exchange and a crypto-asset trading platform, with euro fiat channels, for private and corporate clients. (Verified: October 2026)
Verified sources
- https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2024-12/CASPS.csv
- https://www.zbx.com/licenses
- https://www.amf-france.org/en/warnings/white-lists/daspcasp/zillion-bits-limited
- https://maltaceos.mt/co-founder-ian-dawson-appointed-ceo-at-st-julians-based-zbx-exchange/
- https://www.mfsa.mt/news-item/mfsa-warning-zbx-exchanges-clone/
