Bybit Secures VARA Licence for Exchange Services in Dubai

Bybit has announced that its Dubai entity, Bybit Fintech FZE, has obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for Exchange Services. According to Bybit's announcement on 22 October 2026, the licence covers spot trading for users served through the Dubai entity.

Key takeaways

• VARA's public register lists Bybit Fintech FZE with an active VASP licence, reference VL/26/10/003, issued on 20 October 2026.
• The licensed activity is Exchange Services. Bybit describes the approved offering as spot trading.
• The register says the entity may serve institutional, qualified and retail investors.
• Derivatives are not part of the announced scope. Bybit says it hopes to add them later, subject to further approvals.

What the licence covers

VARA regulates virtual asset activity in Dubai's mainland and free zones, excluding the DIFC, which has its own regulator (the DFSA). A VASP licence is granted per activity, so each service a firm offers needs its own authorisation.

The register entry for Bybit Fintech FZE lists:

What the licence does not cover

It is important not to read this as approval for every Bybit product. The register entry lists Exchange Services only. It does not, in this entry, list separate approvals for activities such as custody, broker-dealer services or lending.

VARA's rules also require explicit authorisation for exchange-traded derivatives. Bybit is widely known for futures and other derivatives globally, but its Dubai announcement describes spot trading, and the company has said derivatives would depend on further regulatory approval.

In practice, this means the products available to a Dubai-based user through the licensed entity may differ from what Bybit offers in other regions.

Why this matters for UAE traders

• Clearer oversight for spot trading. Users trading spot crypto through the Dubai entity do so with a firm that holds an activity-specific licence from the local regulator.
• Check which entity you are with. Large exchanges often operate several legal entities. The protections that apply depend on the entity that holds your account, not just the brand name.
• Product scope still matters. If a product is not listed under the licensed activities, it is not covered by this licence.

How to verify it yourself

1. Open VARA's official public register at vara.ae.
2. Search for Bybit Fintech FZE.
3. Confirm the licence status is active, and review the listed activities and reference number (VL/26/10/003).
4. When signing up, check your account terms to confirm which Bybit entity you are contracting with.

You can also compare Bybit with other exchanges on the BrokerBazaar crypto comparison pages, where we track the regulators each exchange reports.

The bigger picture

Dubai has positioned VARA as a dedicated regulator for virtual assets, and a growing number of global exchanges have pursued activity-specific licences there. For traders, each new licence adds a verifiable data point, but the details — which entity, which activities, which client types — are what determine the protection you actually get.

Source: Bybit press release (22 October 2026) and the VARA public register entry for Bybit Fintech FZE. BrokerBazaar reports published statements and register data and does not add findings of its own. This article is for information only and is not financial advice.