Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) lists Bybit Fintech FZE’s virtual asset service provider (VASP) license for Exchange Services as active and says the firm may serve institutional, qualified and retail investors in Dubai.
Bybit announced at 6 a.m. ET on Oct. 22, 2026, that Bybit Fintech FZE had secured the license, describing its scope as spot trading. VARA’s entry assigns reference VL/26/10/003 and lists June 20, 2026, as the issue date, about four months before the announcement.
The two sources provide different levels of detail. VARA names Exchange Services as the permitted activity but does not separately identify spot products or derivatives. Bybit’s announcement says the license covers spot trading.
The register classifies the authorization as a full VASP license. VARA treats in-principle approval as preliminary: firms at that stage must receive a full license before they can conduct virtual-asset business or serve clients.
VARA oversees virtual-asset activity across Dubai’s mainland and free zones, except within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Its register lists institutional, qualified and retail investors among the customer groups Bybit Fintech FZE may serve.
Bybit said it made Dubai the base of its international headquarters in 2022. Co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou said the emirate had made progress in building rules for virtual assets and described the license as a further step for the company there.
Peter Loo, Bybit’s chief legal and compliance officer, said the company hopes to add derivatives to its licensed activities if regulators approve. The announcement gave no timetable for that expansion.
