Bybit Review (October 2026): Fees, Safety Record and Who Can Use It

Bybit at a glance

Scroll sideways to see all columns

Is Bybit safe? Security record

No review can tell you an exchange is safe. What we can do is set out what official sources say about Bybit’s security record, what Bybit has published, and what we could not verify.

The February 2025 hack

On or about 21 February 2025, approximately $1.5 billion in virtual assets was stolen from Bybit. In a public service announcement issued on 26 February 2025 (I-022625-PSA), the FBI said North Korea was responsible for the theft and attributed it to the activity it calls “TraderTraitor”. FBI PSA

That is all our data sheet holds on the hack. We do not cover recovery figures, how Bybit covered the loss, or any estimate of user losses, because we have not verified them from an official source. If you want those details, read Bybit’s own announcements and treat third-party figures with caution.

Proof of reserves

Bybit publishes proof-of-reserves reports. Its latest report, by Hacken OU and dated 29 September 2026, is based on a snapshot taken on 23 September 2026 and covers 50 assets. It states a reserve ratio above 100% for each asset, including USDT, USDC, BTC and ETH. It does not publish the exact ratios or the amounts of user assets and Bybit holdings.

Source: Bybit proof-of-reserves report by Hacken, 29 Sep 2026, verified 1 Nov 2026.

Proof of reserves is a snapshot of one moment. It covers the listed assets only, and it is not an audit of everything the exchange owes.

Licences and what they cover

• EU (MiCA). Bybit EU GmbH was authorised under MiCA by Austria’s FMA on 28 May 2025. Its authorisation covers custody, exchanging crypto for money, exchanging crypto for crypto, placing and transfer services, and it is passported to 29 EEA states, not including Malta.
• EU derivatives (MiFID II). MiCA does not cover derivatives such as futures and perpetuals; those need a separate MiFID II licence. Bybit X GmbH applied to Austria’s FMA for a MiFID II licence (Sep 2025); a Sep 2026 report expected a decision “within two months”. We found no grant as of 10 Oct 2026.
• India (FIU-IND). Bybit announced its FIU-IND registration in a press release dated 6 Feb 2025, after a Rs 9.27 crore penalty (FIU order of 31 Jan 2025), and first restored services to Indian users on 25 Feb 2025. FIU-IND publishes no public register, so this rests on the FIU order and Bybit’s own announcements.
• UK. Bybit relaunched in the UK on 19 Dec 2025 with financial promotions approved by Archax, an FCA-authorised firm. The UK service covers spot and P2P only, according to press reports.
• UAE. Bybit Fintech FZE holds an in-principle approval from Dubai’s VARA (as of 28 Jul 2026), according to a third-party reading of the register. In Dubai, firms with in-principle approval may not serve clients.

Sources: ESMA MiCA register; FIU-IND order 15/DIR/FIU-IND/2024; Cointelegraph on Bybit’s India registration; Cointelegraph on Bybit’s UK return; all verified 10 Oct 2026.

What this means for you

These are general habits that apply to any exchange, not an endorsement of Bybit:

• Keep only your active trading balance on an exchange.
• Withdraw idle funds regularly instead of letting balances build up.
• Turn on two-factor authentication and a withdrawal-address whitelist.
• During any incident, use only the exchange’s official website, app and verified social accounts. Ignore “recovery services” that contact you.

Withdrawals: what Bybit’s own pages say

Current status. No platform-wide withdrawal suspension found (checked 11 Oct 2026). Bybit lists suspended tokens and chains on its Crypto Deposit/Withdrawal Status page. That is the result of our search of official notices and press, not a guarantee.

How long Bybit says withdrawals take. Bybit says an instant withdrawal may take up to 15 minutes to process, and that withdrawals may take longer when the network is highly congested. This is Bybit’s own estimate, not a time we measured. You can cancel a withdrawal only while it is pending review.

What can hold, block or reject a withdrawal. Bybit’s own pages list these cases:

• Travel Rule check. You may have to verify that you own the receiving wallet (status “Pending Verification”).
• Risky receiving address. If Bybit flags the address as risky, the withdrawal may be rejected and your account restricted until you send verification documents by email.
• 24-hour block after security changes. Withdrawals are blocked for 24 hours after you change or reset your password, phone number or email; turn the New Address Withdrawal Lock on or off; disable or reset Google Authenticator; change or disable your Fund Password; move your KYC identity to another account; reactivate your account; or remove passkeys. The block covers crypto and fiat withdrawals, internal transfers, Bybit Card and P2P.
• Compliance review. Funds linked to sanctioned entities, stolen funds or other prohibited sources are held as “Pending Asset” for a compliance review. Bybit does not say how long a compliance hold lasts.
• Suspended token or chain, or network congestion.

Withdrawal limits. At VIP 0, Bybit’s withdrawal FAQ lists these crypto withdrawal limits: without identity verification, 20,000 USDT per day and 100,000 USDT per month; Standard verification, 1M USDT per day; Advanced verification, 2M USDT per day; Business verification, 4M USDT per day. There is no monthly limit once you are verified, and higher VIP levels have larger daily limits. Limits are in USDT equivalent, and the daily limit resets at 00:00 UTC. Bybit’s verification-levels page lays the table out differently, so check your account settings for your exact limit.

Withdrawal fees. Not yet verified. Bybit charges a fixed fee per coin and chain, listed on its Crypto Deposit/Withdrawal Status page and in the withdrawal window; internal transfers between Bybit accounts are free.

Cashing out in India: P2P only, as far as Bybit describes

Bybit’s India guide (13 Feb 2026) lists “UPI/IMPS – Onmeta (Only Buy)”, a third-party provider you can use to buy crypto with rupees, and INR P2P to buy and sell. It describes no direct INR bank deposit or withdrawal. So cashing out to an Indian bank appears possible only via P2P, where you sell crypto to another user who pays you directly.

For Indian users, Bybit’s INR P2P covers BTC, ETH, USDT and USDC only. We have not yet verified Bybit’s P2P dispute process. If you rely on P2P to cash out, read Bybit’s P2P rules before your first trade and check the counterparty’s record.

What users report about frozen funds

In a sample of 95 Trustpilot reviews of Bybit, Binance, MEXC and Bitget (every review on page 2 of each exchange’s page, all star ratings, read on 9 October 2026), 47 were mainly about frozen accounts or withheld withdrawals, and 53 mentioned the problem. This is a small, self-selected sample of mostly one-star reviews, not a measure of how often accounts are frozen. How we count complaints

If your account or withdrawal is held

Bybit’s help centre describes these official routes:

• A deposit or withdrawal held for compliance review (“Pending Asset”). On the Bybit website (not the app), open Funding Account → Pending Asset → Appeal, complete the Enhanced Due Diligence questionnaire and upload supporting documents. Bybit says its compliance team reviews them and reaches out within 24 hours of receiving the documents.
• An account you deactivated yourself. Use “Request to Unban” on the login page. If Bybit detects suspicious activity, a Self-Service Unban page asks for documents, a selfie and a selfie video; Bybit says the review takes about 5–7 working days. Withdrawals stay blocked for 24 hours after reactivation.
• An account suspended for security reasons. Self-service reactivation is not available.
• Other cases. Bybit’s live chat or its web form.

Bybit does not say what happens if a compliance appeal is rejected, and we found no formal complaints procedure with deadlines for Bybit’s global platform. Contact Bybit only through its official website or app, and ignore anyone who offers to “recover” funds for a fee.

Sources: Bybit compliance-review FAQ (updated 24 May 2026) and account reactivation guide (updated 19 Aug 2026), verified 11 Oct 2026.

If your account is frozen on any exchange, our step-by-step guide explains what each kind of hold means and the order to act in.

Bybit fees (summary)

What that means on a $1,000 trade

Exchange	Spot maker	Spot taker	Futures maker	Futures taker	Promo rate	$1,000 spot buy (taker)	$1,000 futures, open + close (taker)
Bybit	0.1%	0.1%	0.02%	0.055%	None verified	$1.00	$1.10

Scroll sideways to see all columns

Standard rates for a regular (non-VIP) account. The $1,000 example is the trade size times the taker rate; futures fees are charged on the position size, not on your margin, so leverage makes them larger relative to your deposit.

Withdrawal fees vary by asset and network:

• Bybit: not yet verified

Sources:

• Bybit: Bybit fee page, checked 31 Oct 2026

VIP rates. Rates fall with VIP level. At Bybit’s top tier (Supreme VIP), spot is 0.03% maker / 0.045% taker and perpetuals 0.00% maker / 0.03% taker. VIP 1 starts at an asset balance of $100,000, or 30-day spot volume of $1M, or derivatives volume of $10M.

No promotional rates were found (checked 10 Oct 2026). Bybit notes that “actual rates may vary by region”, so check the rate shown on its My Fee Rate page before you trade. Withdrawal fees are separate and not yet verified (see above). These are the fees of Bybit’s global platform. EU readers are served by Bybit EU GmbH, whose spot fee is 0.25% at VIP 0 (see Bybit in the EU).

The full schedule, with every VIP level and worked examples, is on our Bybit fees page.

For how Bybit’s futures fees compare with other exchanges, see lowest-fee futures exchanges.

Futures and leverage

Leverage warning. Futures and perpetuals use leverage. As an illustration, at 20x leverage a price move of about 5% against you equals your whole margin, before fees; the higher the leverage, the smaller the move. Liquidation usually comes earlier because exchanges require a maintenance margin. Only trade with money you can afford to lose.

Maximum leverage on Bybit varies by contract, and it falls as your position grows: Bybit’s risk-limit guide says that “as traders hold larger contract values, the maximum allowable leverage decreases”. Bybit publishes the current limits on its risk-limit page (updated 4 Sep 2026, verified 11 Oct 2026). We treat high maximum leverage as a risk, and it earns no points in our methodology.

Standard futures fees are 0.02% maker and 0.055% taker (non-VIP). Where you can use Bybit futures depends on the company that serves you: the UK route covers spot and P2P only, and we found no EU derivatives licence for Bybit EU (see Bybit in the EU and the UK).

We do not link to Bybit futures for any reader. For exchanges compared on futures, see best futures exchanges and lowest-fee futures exchanges.

Copy trading on Bybit (summary)

Copy trading copies losses as well as gains. Bybit’s Copy Trading Classic copies perpetual futures positions, where you can lose your entire margin quickly. A Master Trader’s past results do not predict future results.

In Bybit’s Copy Trading Classic, followers copy Master Traders’ USDT perpetual positions. The minimum is 100 USDT, and a Master Trader may set a higher minimum. You can follow up to 10 Master Traders at once. The Master Trader’s profit share depends on rank, mainly Cadet 10%, Bronze 10%, Silver 12% and Gold 15%. Bybit states no separate copy fee: you pay normal open and close trading fees, plus the profit share on net profit.

Bybit’s help article says a Master Trader’s profile shows “comprehensive performance metrics” but does not name them, so we have not yet verified which stats Bybit shows, such as maximum drawdown or what copiers earned. For how to judge a lead trader, see best copy trading platforms.

More detail, including how to stop copying and a worked example: Bybit copy trading: profit share, minimum, costs and risks.

Bybit in India

Bybit announced its FIU-IND registration on 6 Feb 2025, after a Rs 9.27 crore penalty (FIU order of 31 Jan 2025), and first restored services to Indian users on 25 Feb 2025. Full app and web access, including derivatives and copy trading, was restored on 8 Sep 2025. FIU-IND has no public register to confirm the registration. For Indian readers we link to spot trading only, not to futures or copy trading.

Source: Bybit press release, 6 Feb 2025 (via AAP), Cointelegraph and the FIU-IND order, verified 10 Oct 2026.

Tax: what Bybit says it deducts

According to Bybit’s India tax FAQ (updated 30 Jul 2026), Bybit deducts 1% TDS for users whose verified ID, proof of address or declared address is in India. It applies to crypto→fiat sales and crypto↔crypto trades, not to fiat→crypto buys, and is deducted from the assets you receive. Bybit also charges 18% GST on trading and service fees. TDS and GST invoices can be exported from Bybit’s tax centre (Account → Tax center).

The 1% TDS on virtual digital assets falls under Section 194S of the Income-tax Act, 1961 until 31 March 2026, and under Section 393(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 from 1 April 2026; the Income Tax Department says TDS rates were kept unchanged. The 1% rate itself is stated by exchanges, including Bybit.

This is not tax advice; ask a chartered accountant.

Products not available to Indian users

Bybit’s India FAQ lists Bybit Card, Trading Bot, Bybit CFD and altcoin P2P as unavailable to India users.

We do not link to futures or copy trading for Indian readers. For the full picture, see our India guide.

For the registration evidence behind each exchange that serves India, see FIU-registered crypto exchanges in India.

Bybit in the EU and the UK

European Union

Served by Bybit EU GmbH (bybit.eu), authorised under MiCA by Austria’s FMA on 28 May 2025. Not available in Malta. Spot and other MiCA services only: we found no EU licence for futures or copy trading (ESMA register, checked 10 Oct 2026).

• Spot: available through Bybit EU.
• Futures on bybit.eu: Not confirmed.
• Copy trading on bybit.eu: Not confirmed.
• Fees on bybit.eu: Bybit EU GmbH charges its own spot fee: 0.25% at VIP 0, one rate for maker and taker orders, since 5 Oct 2026. That is higher than the 0.10% global rate; the other fees in this review are for Bybit’s global platform. Bybit EU GmbH spot fee: 0.25% (one rate for maker and taker) (VIP 0, under 10,000 EUR 30-day spot volume). Source: Bybit EU GmbH fee page, checked 31 Oct 2026.

For EU readers we link to bybit.eu for spot trading only. If you are in Malta, Bybit EU is not available to you.

United Kingdom

The UK is not on Bybit’s restricted list. Bybit relaunched in the UK on 19 Dec 2025 with promotions approved by Archax, an FCA-authorised firm; spot and P2P only, no derivatives, according to The Block and Cointelegraph.

We do not link to any crypto exchange for UK readers, including Bybit, and we show no bonuses or referral offers.

Where Bybit is available

Bybit’s own restricted-countries page (updated 1 Sep 2026) excludes the US, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Uzbekistan, Sudan, Syria and Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine. For its Dubai company only, it also excludes Dubai. The UK and the EEA are not excluded; EEA users are served by Bybit EU. Bybit restricted-countries page

Sources: Bybit restricted countries, ESMA MiCA register, India: Cointelegraph, UK: Cointelegraph, Thailand: Cointelegraph, Philippines: Cointelegraph; all verified 10 Oct 2026.

We do not cover ways to get around an exchange’s country restrictions, including VPNs.

Pros and cons

Pros

• MiCA-authorised EU company for spot. Bybit EU GmbH, authorised by Austria’s FMA on 28 May 2025.
• Published proof of reserves. Hacken’s report of 29 Sep 2026 (snapshot 23 Sep 2026, 50 assets) states reserves above 100% for each asset, including USDT, USDC, BTC and ETH.
• Published withdrawal rules. Bybit states its processing estimate, limits by verification level, what triggers a hold and how to appeal one.
• India: registration announced, TDS handled by Bybit. FIU-IND registration announced in 2025 (B), and Bybit says it deducts the 1% TDS and lets you export TDS and GST invoices (A).
• Low standard futures maker fee: 0.02% (non-VIP).
• Published copy-trading terms: profit share by rank, a 100 USDT minimum, how net profit is calculated and when it is settled.

Cons

• Approximately $1.5 billion hack in February 2025, attributed by the FBI to North Korea.
• Compliance holds have no stated time limit, and we found no formal complaints procedure with deadlines for Bybit’s global platform.
• No EU derivatives licence found, so futures and copy trading on bybit.eu are not confirmed.
• UK: spot and P2P only.
• India: cash-out to a bank appears possible only via P2P.
• Not available in the US, Canada, Singapore or Hong Kong.
• Withdrawal fees not yet verified by us.

Who should not use Bybit

• Anyone in the US, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong or another country on Bybit’s restricted list.
• UK readers who want futures or copy trading. Bybit’s UK route covers spot and P2P only.
• EU readers who want futures or copy trading on a licensed EU company. We found no EU derivatives licence for Bybit EU. Readers in Malta cannot use Bybit EU at all.
• Indian readers who need to withdraw rupees straight to a bank account. Bybit’s India guide describes P2P as the only rupee cash-out route.
• Beginners. Bybit’s core products are leveraged derivatives, where losses can be fast.

Bybit alternatives

Which alternatives make sense depends on where you live. The cards below come from our data sheet (verified 10 Oct 2026).

• If Bybit does not serve you or you want a different company: our Binance alternatives guide lists options by country.
• If you are in India: our India guide groups Indian exchanges (direct INR) and global exchanges with FIU-IND registration.
• Comparing Bybit with Binance: see Binance vs Bybit.

How we reviewed Bybit

This review is Researched (not tested). We research exchanges’ official pages and regulator records and keep every figure in a dated data sheet. We do not open accounts or move funds, and we do not give exchanges an overall score.

For Bybit we used Bybit’s fee page, withdrawal FAQ, compliance-review and account-reactivation guides, proof-of-reserves report by Hacken, copy-trading guides, India tax FAQ and India buying guide, its restricted-countries page, ESMA’s MiCA register, an FIU-IND order and the FBI’s public service announcement, plus press and secondary sources where official pages were not available, each labelled with its confidence level. Links to Bybit’s own pages point to bybitglobal.com, Bybit’s official global site. Figures were verified on 10 and 11 Oct 2026; proof of reserves on 1 Nov 2026. Read how we review exchanges.

Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose all the money you put in. Nothing on this site is financial advice. Risk warning