Bybit: fact sheet

What is Bybit and who runs it?

Bybit is a centralised crypto exchange: a company that runs markets for crypto-assets and usually holds customers’ coins in its own wallets. If that is new to you, read what a crypto exchange is first.

In its press releases Bybit describes itself as “the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving a global community of over 80 million users”, and says it was “Founded in 2018”. These are the company’s own statements. We have not seen the trading-volume ranking or the user count independently verified, so we repeat them only as claims.

Bybit operates through different companies in different places. In the European Union, the regulated company is Bybit EU GmbH in Vienna, which runs the website bybit.eu. The company you sign up with — and the rules that protect you — depend on where you live.

Where is Bybit licensed or registered?

The entry we could confirm on an official register, as of 2 October 2026:

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is the EU’s securities watchdog. The entry also lists the other European Economic Area countries for its services. Note the limits: the entry covers Bybit EU GmbH, not Bybit’s global platform.

Bybit also says it received a Virtual Asset Platform Operator licence from the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority in October 2025, and that it relaunched spot and P2P trading in the UK in partnership with “FCA-regulated Archax”. We did not check those claims on the regulators’ own registers. Bybit did not appear on the Dubai VARA register page we checked on 2 October 2026. Our guide on checking if a crypto firm is authorised shows how to look these up yourself.

A register entry is not a safety guarantee. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), for example, says registration of a crypto business “does not mean your customers benefit from the protections of the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).”

What happened in the February 2025 Bybit hack?

On 26 February 2025 the FBI published a public service announcement. It says: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing this PSA to advise the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was responsible for the theft of approximately $1.5 billion USD (United States Dollars) in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit, on or about February 21, 2025.”

The FBI added: “FBI refers to this specific North Korean malicious cyber activity as “TraderTraitor.”” It also said: “TraderTraitor actors are proceeding rapidly and have converted some of the stolen assets to Bitcoin and other virtual assets dispersed across thousands of addresses on multiple blockchains.” The FBI asked exchanges, bridges, blockchain analytics firms and other service providers to block transactions linked to the addresses used to launder the stolen assets.

Three days after the theft, Bybit published a press release titled “Fully Backed Within 72 hours: Bybit Maintains 1:1 Customer Assets Ratio in Latest Proof of Reserves Audited Report by Hacken”. That is the company’s own statement. What it shows, and what it cannot show, is explained in the proof-of-reserves section below.

The lesson for any user is not specific to Bybit. Crypto held by a platform is exposed to that platform’s security. Our lesson on wallets and private keys explains the trade-off between leaving crypto on an exchange and holding it yourself.

What can you trade on Bybit?

Bybit’s website description says you can “Buy, sell, trade BTC, altcoins & NFTs” and “Get access to the spot and futures market or stake your coins securely.” Its site keywords also name crypto derivatives, perpetual contracts, copy trading, trading bots, a Bybit card and leveraged tokens.

Spot trading means buying the coin itself. Futures and perpetual contracts are derivatives: contracts that track a price, usually traded with leverage. The EU entity’s MiCA services listed on the ESMA register cover custody, exchange and transfer of crypto-assets; check what is actually offered in your country.

What fees does Bybit charge?

We could not read fee figures from Bybit’s website on 2 October 2026, so we do not quote a rate. Check the official Bybit fee page for your region — and for the EU, bybit.eu — before you trade.

Compare four costs: the trading fee for your tier, the spread, deposit fees and withdrawal fees. Illustrative arithmetic only: at a hypothetical 0.1% trading fee, a £250 buy costs £250 × 0.001 = £0.25, and selling it again costs about the same, before the spread. Derivatives can add funding or financing charges. Our lesson on crypto trading fees lists the costs to look for.

Does Bybit publish proof of reserves?

Bybit says it does. In its February 2025 press release it said: “Hacken conducted an extensive audit of Bybit’s liabilities, utilizing the Merkle tree to verify the integrity of the assets reported.” A Merkle tree combines every customer’s balance into a single fingerprint so that each customer can check their own balance was included. Bybit described that report as its 19th. Its proof-of-reserves page did not load for us on 2 October 2026.

Treat any proof of reserves with care. The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which oversees auditors, warned in March 2023: “PoR engagements are not audits and, consequently, the related reports do not provide any meaningful assurance to investors or the public.” It added that such reports likely do not address a platform’s liabilities, or whether the assets shown were borrowed. In other words, a snapshot of Bybit’s wallets tells you what it held at one moment, not what it owes. Our explainer on proof of reserves covers the method and its limits.

Which countries can’t use Bybit?

We could not load Bybit’s global Terms of Service on 2 October 2026, so we cannot quote its list of restricted jurisdictions. Find it in the terms on Bybit’s own website before you sign up, and do not use a VPN or false details to get around a restriction — that would break the terms you agree to.

What we could confirm: within the EU, the ESMA register shows Bybit EU GmbH’s authorisation and the member states it notified for cross-border services. In the UK, Bybit says it offers spot and P2P trading through a partnership with an FCA-regulated firm; check the FCA register for the firm named in the sign-up flow.

What should you check before you sign up with Bybit?

Use this list before you send Bybit any money. Each step takes a few minutes and uses official sources, not the platform’s marketing.

1. Which Bybit. EU residents should check whether they are signing up with Bybit EU GmbH (bybit.eu) or another Bybit company.
2. The register. Look the company up yourself on ESMA’s register or your national regulator’s register.
3. Restricted countries. Read the restricted-jurisdiction clause in the current terms.
4. Security set-up. Turn on two-factor authentication and withdrawal-address allow-lists if offered, and type the web address yourself; scammers copy big brands (see clone firms).
5. Custody plan. Decide how much you will leave on the platform; the February 2025 theft shows that exchange custody carries real risk.
6. Costs. Write down trading, spread, funding and withdrawal costs.
7. Derivatives. If you plan to use futures, understand liquidation and leverage first.

What are the risks of using Bybit?

Every risk that applies to crypto platforms in general applies to Bybit:

• Price risk. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says: “If you decide to invest in crypto then you should be prepared to lose all your money, for any one of a variety of reasons, including sudden market moves, the failure of a firm, poor segregation of client funds or cyberattacks.”
• No compensation scheme. The FCA says crypto “is largely unregulated in the UK, so it is highly unlikely you will be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme”. In the US, the SEC says of the protections that apply to brokerage accounts: “There are no such protections for accounts that you place with crypto asset entities.”
• Platform failure. The SEC noted in 2023: “Over the past year, a number of crypto asset entities have faced severe financial difficulties, sometimes resulting in suspending customers’ ability to withdraw their assets.”
• Leverage. Futures and other derivatives usually let you trade with borrowed money, which magnifies losses as well as gains. The US self-regulatory body FINRA’s day-trading risk disclosure warns that when you trade with borrowed funds you can lose more than you originally put in.
• Hacks. The FBI’s statement on the February 2025 theft shows that even large exchanges can lose very large sums to attackers.

Blockhorizon is an education site. This fact sheet is not a recommendation to open an account with, or avoid, any platform. We have not rated this exchange; see our rating methodology.