Overview
- Bybit announced on Thursday, October 22, 2026, that its Dubai unit, Bybit Fintech FZE, is listed on VARA’s public register with a VASP licence for Exchange Services covering spot trading.
- VARA’s register records the licence issue date as June 20, 2026, and the approval applies only to spot or cash-market exchange services rather than futures or other derivatives.
- Bybit says it will seek a separate VARA permission to offer derivatives in Dubai but has not submitted a public application or given a timeline for any local derivatives launch.
- The company has placed regulatory strategy under chief legal and compliance officer Peter Loo, an ex-VARA executive, and says the Dubai licence is one part of five other 2026 approvals reported across the EU, the Cayman Islands, Indonesia, South Africa and El Salvador.
- VARA separates activities such as exchange services, custody and derivatives into distinct permissions, so the spot licence lets local customers trade regulated cash markets now while any leveraged or margin products will require further oversight and safeguards before they can be offered.