Bybit said on Oct. 22, 2026 that its Dubai entity Bybit Fintech FZE secured a VASP licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), as reported by Wu Blockchain.

The licence covers exchange services with spot trading. Derivatives are not included, Bybit hopes to add them later subject to approvals.

No launch date for the licensed services was given in the release.

Context given with the announcement: Bybit set up its international headquarters in Dubai in 2022 and received in-principle approval in 2024.

Other exchanges cited as holding VARA licences include Binance, OKX, Gate and Backpack.

The Capital News Telegram post describes the same scope, spot only, derivatives pending.