Revolut has handed its Cyprus crypto business to a forex industry insider. Georgios Vasiliou, who ran the Trading.com brand for five years and spent more than a decade inside XM Group before that, is the new chief executive of Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd, the MiCA licensed entity that sells crypto to Revolut customers across all 27 EEA states. He replaces Costas Michael, the founding chief executive, whose exit was first reported by FX News Group on 13 August 2026 and confirmed on his own LinkedIn page. Finance Magnates reported the Vasiliou appointment a day later.
Michael is not a fintech lifer either. Before he joined Revolut in 2022 he spent four years as managing director of XTB Ltd, the Polish broker's Cyprus operation, with earlier stops at Leverate and TFI Markets. He built the Revolut unit from scratch, took it through one of the early Crypto Asset Service Provider authorisations CySEC granted under MiCA, and expanded it to retail and business clients in every EEA jurisdiction. He stays on as a board advisor. On LinkedIn he wrote: “After more than four years as founding CEO of Revolut Digital Assets Europe, I'm stepping down.”
Why Revolut Keeps Hiring From Forex Brokers
Vasiliou's CV reads like a tour of the Cyprus trading industry. Twelve years at XM Group, starting on the dealing desk and working up through risk management, then five years running Trading.com, where he held the chief risk officer title before taking the top job. That is the profile Revolut wanted. Someone who has priced retail risk on a live dealing floor, not a payments executive learning derivatives on the job.
What the MiCA Deadline Has to Do With It
The timing matters. MiCA's grandfathering window closed in July 2026, so every crypto firm serving EEA clients now needs a full licence, and national regulators are watching the early licence holders closely. Revolut's Cyprus entity was among the first through CySEC's door. Putting a risk specialist in charge is a message aimed at the regulator as much as at the market.
There is a wider story here too. Cyprus built its financial sector on CFD brokers, and those firms have become the talent pool for every fintech and crypto operator that lands on the island. When the largest neobank in Europe staffs its crypto arm with XM and XTB alumni, the line between the forex industry and mainstream fintech gets thinner. Expect more of these moves. MiCA compliance teams need people who have survived CySEC inspections, and brokers are where those people work.
BestForex.io View
Revolut Did Not Hire a Crypto Evangelist. It Hired a Risk Manager Trained on a Forex Dealing Floor.
That tells you where European crypto is heading. The forex industry spent two decades learning, often the hard way and in front of CySEC, how to run regulated retail speculation.
Fintechs are now buying that scar tissue one executive at a time.
Watch the next round of MiCA enforcement: the firms without broker DNA in their leadership will be the ones writing the cheques.
About the Company
About Revolut
Regulator
CySEC, under the EU MiCA framework
Jurisdiction
Cyprus | EEA
Action Type
CEO change at Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd
Penalty
None | Executive appointment
Revolut is a London based financial technology company founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, and it reports more than 50 million customers worldwide. Its Cyprus entity, Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd, holds a Crypto Asset Service Provider authorisation from CySEC under the EU MiCA framework and serves retail and business clients across the EEA. The wider group has been pushing into trading products, including stocks and contracts for difference for European clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who runs Revolut's crypto business in Cyprus?
Georgios Vasiliou is chief executive of Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd as of August 2026. He took over from founding chief executive Costas Michael, who remains involved as a board advisor.
Is Revolut regulated for crypto in Europe?
Yes. Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd holds a Crypto Asset Service Provider authorisation granted by CySEC in Cyprus under the EU MiCA framework, which lets it serve clients in all 27 EEA jurisdictions from a single licence.
What is Georgios Vasiliou's background?
He spent 12 years at XM Group, moving from the dealing desk into risk management, then five years as chief executive of Trading.com, where he had earlier served as chief risk officer.
Why does Revolut hire executives from forex brokers?
Cyprus brokers have run regulated retail trading businesses under CySEC supervision for two decades, so their senior people arrive with the compliance and risk experience a MiCA licensed crypto firm needs from day one. See how Revolut compares in our Best Forex Brokers in 2026 ranking.
Editor's note & source: Factual points drawn from Finance Magnates and FX News Group reporting and the executives' own public statements. This is an executive appointment, not a regulatory action. This article is not investment advice. Last updated: 15 August 2026.