Bybit secures Dubai licence for spot trading

• Bybit has secured a licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to provide exchange services.
• The approval covers spot trading in virtual assets through Bybit’s Dubai-based entity.
• Bybit plans to pursue derivatives services later, subject to further regulatory approval.

Bybit Fintech FZE, Bybit’s Dubai-based entity, has received a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to provide exchange services, including spot trading.

The approval replaces an earlier in-principle authorisation that did not permit Bybit to serve customers in Dubai.

“Dubai has made significant progress in building a regulatory environment for virtual assets, and we are pleased to take this next step in our journey here,” Bybit Co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou said in a statement.

The licence allows Bybit to serve retail, qualified and institutional investors once it completes the remaining launch requirements.

Bybit must still complete VARA’s launch process and satisfy operational requirements before spot trading begins, with no launch date announced.

The approval follows Bybit’s October 2025 licence from the UAE’s federal Securities and Commodities Authority, which does not cover Dubai services through that entity.

Bybit says it established its international headquarters in Dubai in 2022 and secured five additional licences or regulatory approvals across the European Union, the Cayman Islands, Indonesia, South Africa and El Salvador during 2026.

The licence establishes a regulatory route for Bybit’s Dubai spot trading services, while derivatives remain subject to separate approval.