Bybit has obtained a full licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to conduct spot trading activities. This approval allows the exchange to serve retail, qualified, and institutional investors through its local entity, Bybit Fintech FZE.
Despite this regulatory milestone, the licence does not extend to cryptocurrency derivatives, which remain a core part of Bybit’s global business model. The exchange must seek separate explicit permission to offer these products in the emirate, distinguishing its current status from rivals like Binance and OKX who hold derivative permissions.
Key facts
- Bybit received full VARA licence for spot trading.
- Derivatives remain out of reach under this specific licence.
- The licence permits serving retail, qualified and institutional investors.
- VARA’s register records 20 June 2026 as the licence issue date.
- Bybit announced the approval on 22 October.
- Peter Loo stated the company hopes to expand licensed activities to include derivatives subject to approvals.
Why it matters
The exclusion of derivatives from this specific licence limits Bybit’s local footprint strictly to cash-market exchange services, requiring further regulatory steps to offer its core derivative products in Dubai.
Sources
Jurisdiction: Dubai, UAE. Regulator: Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Instrument: Full Crypto Asset Service Provider Licence. Effective Date: 20 June 2026 (per register). Affected Parties: Bybit Fintech FZE, retail and institutional investors in the emirate. Scope: Spot trading only. Exclusion: Derivatives remain unlicensed. This distinction is critical because VARA treats derivatives as a separate category requiring explicit permission. While Binance and OKX hold derivative permissions, Bybit’s current authority is strictly limited to cash-market exchange services. The licence does not grant blanket approval for all crypto activities. Operators must navigate this fragmentation carefully. The gap between spot and derivatives licensing creates a compliance boundary that cannot be bridged by general operational licenses alone. Entities seeking to offer leveraged products must submit distinct applications, subject to separate risk assessments and capital adequacy reviews by VARA. This structural separation ensures that high-risk instruments are scrutinized independently from spot market operations.
Regarding “Bybit Secures Full VARA Licence for Spot Trading”, what evidence would clearly distinguish changed behavior from activity merely shifting elsewhere over time?