Bybit secures full Dubai VARA licence for spot trading, derivatives not included

Crypto exchange Bybit has received a full virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). In a press release issued Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. KST, Bybit said its Dubai entity, Bybit Fintech FZE, had secured a licence for Exchange Services, covering spot trading. The approval comes about four years after the company set up its international headquarters in Dubai in 2022.

VARA's public register lists the entity under licence number VL/26/10/003, with Exchange Services as its licensed activity, an issue date of Oct. 20, 2026, and a status of Active. According to the register, the licence allows it to serve retail, qualified and institutional investors.

From provisional approval to full licence

The transition from provisional approval to a full licence took just over two years, during which Bybit also suffered a major hack.

1. 2022Sets up international headquarters in Dubai
2. Sept. 16, 2024Receives a Provisional (Non-Operational) Approval from VARA, an interim step toward a full licence that did not allow it to serve customers in Dubai
3. Feb. 21, 2025About $1.5 billion in virtual assets is stolen. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attributed the theft to North Korea on Feb. 26
4. Oct. 9, 2025Obtains a Virtual Asset Platform Operator licence from the United Arab Emirates' federal Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA)
5. Oct. 20, 2026Full licence issued, according to VARA's register
6. Oct. 22, 2026Bybit formally announces the licence

In the release, Bybit described itself as a financial platform trusted by more than 80 million users worldwide. It added that co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou, in his October keynote, highlighted five new licences and regulatory approvals the company received this year across the European Union, the Cayman Islands, Indonesia, South Africa and El Salvador.

"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."

Ben Zhou, Co-founder and CEO at Bybit

No futures or other derivatives under this licence

The licence covers spot trading and does not include futures or other derivatives. "In time, we also hope to expand our licensed activities to include derivatives, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals," said Peter Loo, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Bybit. "Derivatives are a major part of Bybit's global trading business."

The licence also does not mean spot trading in Dubai will start right away. According to Cointelegraph, a Bybit spokesperson said the company must still complete VARA's launch process and meet operational requirements, and did not give a launch date. The spokesperson also said the earlier provisional approval was non-operational and did not permit Bybit to serve customers in Dubai.

Binance and OKX already hold derivatives approval

VARA's register shows that some rival exchanges already hold exchange licences that include derivatives. As of Oct. 23, the register listed the following activities for major exchange entities.

Gate (Gate Technology FZE, April 25, 2025) and Backpack (Trek Labs Ltd FZE, Oct. 30, 2023) are also listed with Exchange Services as their only licensed activity, like Bybit. Earlier this month, Payward FZCO received a VASP licence on Oct. 6 and Rain MENA FZE on Oct. 5, ahead of Bybit.

A different entity from the federal SCA licence

On Oct. 9 last year, Bybit received a Virtual Asset Platform Operator licence from the SCA, the UAE's federal regulator. At the time, the company said it was the first crypto exchange to obtain this full licence from the SCA. That licence is held by a different entity, Bybit Virtual Asset Platform Operator LLC, while Dubai falls under a separate regulator, VARA.

According to Cointelegraph, Bybit's list of service-restricted countries excludes Dubai from the areas served by the SCA-licensed entity. The Bybit spokesperson did not explain how the VARA licence differs from the SCA approval.