Bybit announced on 22nd October, 2026 that its Dubai entity, Bybit Fintech FZE, secured a license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for spot trading. Derivatives, which the exchange describes as a major part of its global business, sit outside the approval.
What Happened?
- Bybit Fintech FZE received a Virtual Asset Service Provider license from VARA for Exchange Services, and the permission covers spot trading.
- Bybit, which says it serves more than 80 million users, set up its international headquarters in Dubai in 2022.
- Peter Loo, Bybit’s chief legal and compliance officer, said the company hopes to add derivatives later, subject to regulatory approval.
- VARA’s public register still listed the Bybit Fintech FZE license entry with a Pending status at the time of writing.
Dubai clears spot trading while derivatives wait
The approval is a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license for Exchange Services, according to Bybit’s announcement. Its scope is spot trading, the direct purchase and sale of crypto assets on the exchange.
Ben Zhou, Bybit’s co-founder and CEO, said Dubai has made significant progress in building rules for virtual assets. He added that the company will keep growing its local business in line with the standards VARA sets.
Derivatives are where the license stops. Loo said Bybit hopes to widen its licensed activities to include them over time, once the required approvals are in place. “Derivatives are a major part of Bybit’s global trading business,” Loo said.
He framed any Dubai rollout of crypto derivatives as something that would pass through the regulator first. The release gives no timeline for that step.
JUST IN: Bybit officially receives regulatory approval to launch in Dubai
— Kalshi Crypto (@Kalshi_Crypto) October 22, 2026
VARA’s public register still shows Pending
VARA’s public register, reviewed by CoinLaw after the announcement, listed Bybit Fintech FZE under reference VL/24/08/001 with a status of Pending. The entry names Exchange Services as the licensed activity, and its license condition covers institutional, qualified and retail investors.
A separate register page dates the company’s in-principle approval for Exchange Services, reference IPA/24/08/001, to 08/21/2024. VARA describes that approval as the stage where applicants finish the remaining requirements for a full VASP license.
The register does not explain the Pending label, and the release does not address it. Users in Dubai can check the entry to confirm what the license allows. It shows the activity, investor categories and status in one place.
Two questions stay open. Has Bybit already applied for a derivatives permission in Dubai? And what does the spot license change for people already trading there? The release answers neither.
Why It Matters?
The approval also lands in a crowded year for the exchange. In his October keynote, Zhou pointed to five new licenses and regulatory approvals in 2026. They span the European Union, the Cayman Islands, Indonesia, South Africa and El Salvador. Each market sets its own crypto exchange licensing requirements, and VARA authorizes firms for specific activities and product types.
That activity-by-activity model gives this approval its shape. Bybit’s spot business now carries a license from the regulator in its headquarters city. The product line Loo singled out has neither a Dubai license nor a published timeline.
For now, the register tells the plainer version of the story. One line reads Exchange Services, and the status beside it still reads Pending.
