Founded in 2018 in the British Virgin Islands, crypto exchange ByBit is currently operated through Singapore-registered ByBit Fintech Limited. In the UK, ByBit has cashed in on an FCA warning and withdrawn from the UK. German regulator BaFin announced an investigation into ByBit in July 2021. In 2023, Japan’s regulator FSA warned against the crypto exchange. Despite Western sanctions, Similarweb analysis shows that most website visitors come from Russia.
Key Data
| Trading name | ByBit |
| Business activity | Crypto exchange |
| Domain | https://bybit.com |
| Legal entities | ByBit Fintech Ltd (BVI) ByBit Fintech Ltd (Singapore) |
| Jurisdictions | British Virgin Islands Singapore, UAE |
| Related individuals | Ben Zhou |
| Regulation | VARA in Dubai |
| Trustpilot | 2.8 stars with average trust level |
| Warnings | FCA, BaFin, FSA Japan OSC Allegation, CNMV |
Regulatory Issues
In April 2023, ByBit announced the opening of its HQ in Dubai. As of April 17, 2023, Bybit is headquartered at the Dubai World Trade Center. It received a Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) license in Dubai in 2022. ByBit is prohibited from operating in some countries, such as the UK or Spain. Besides that, Germany has also announced investigations against ByBit and stated that ByBit does not have permission to offer its products.
The statements about how ByBit deals with the Western sanctions are contradictory. In November 2022, ByBit said it would not discriminate against Russian customers and would continue its service for Russian nationals.
We also do not offer services to persons or entities in the U.S. Treasury Department’s List of Specially Designated Nationals or Blocked Persons, the EU’s Consolidated Financial Sanctions List or the UK Sanctions List, or any entity that is owned or controlled (50 percent or greater) by a person or entity on such lists (hereinafter “Prohibited Parties”), or offer services that involve or otherwise benefit Prohibited Parties.
ByBit terms and conditions
ByBit Similarweb Analysis
In fact, in Q1 2023, more than 52 million visited ByBit‘s website and spent more than 8 minutes there. So we can assume that these visitors are using ByBit‘s service. More than 16% of these active visitors came from Russia, according to Similarweb.
Almost all websites referring visitors to the ByBit website operate in Russia or do business with Russian clients, such as adBTC (adbtc.top) or CoinPayu (coinpayu.com).
The Russian-controlled crypto payment processor Mercuryo says that ByBit would be one of its most important partners. In fact, Similarweb also shows a close connection between ByBit and Mercuryo.
Share Information
If you have any information about ByBit, operators, or partners, please let us know via our whistleblower system Whistle42.
