Bybit Review: September 2026

In brief: Bybit is the world's second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume (CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko, 15 September 2026), launched in March 2018, headquartered in Dubai, with its European entity licensed under MiCA in Austria. The platform is geared toward derivatives and copy trading: it suits an active trader and is excessive for a beginner; the main plus is liquidity and execution speed. Registration with a Russian passport and ruble P2P work as of September 2026, but the platform has no Russian status: it is not on the Bank of Russia registers under Law 282-FZ. Platform ratings, complaints and user quotes are in a separate article.

The exchange at a glance: numbers and licenses

The user counter is a marketing metric: the press release of 19 March 2026 cites 70 million, while the Datawallet review, citing the exchange, already says 80 million; neither can be verified independently.

Licenses confirmed by regulators: Bybit EU GmbH (reg. No. FN 636180i) was authorized as a crypto-asset service provider under Article 63 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCAR) by a decision of Austria's FMA on 28 May 2025; in October 2025 the group obtained a full Virtual Asset Platform Operator license from the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (CoinDesk, 9 October 2025). Important: the MiCA license belongs to Bybit EU, a separate entity for EEA residents, and the global platform does not fall under it (more in MiCA and crypto exchanges: who operates in the EU).

Does Bybit work in Russia in September 2026

Yes. According to the profinvestment availability review (updated 5 July 2026), the interface is available in Russian, KYC for Russian passports goes through automatically, and geographic restrictions apply to Crimea and the Donbas territories; mandatory verification for financial transactions has been in effect since 15 December 2022. There is no direct top-up with a Russian bank card: rubles come in and go out through the P2P market, where the exchange holds the crypto in escrow, the platform fee is zero, and the cost of the deal sits in the counterparty's rate. The names of sanctioned banks have been removed from the P2P filters, some altcoins may be unavailable to users with Russian residency, and Bybit EU does not open new accounts for Russian citizens, which is the European sanctions regime, not the global platform's policy.

The legal framework: since 1 September 2026, Federal Law No. 282-FZ of 4 August 2026 "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights" has been in force. Digital currency is recognized as property: owning and trading it is allowed, paying with it inside the country is not. The obligation for residents to work only through intermediaries on the Bank of Russia registers takes effect on 1 July 2027; no foreign exchange is on the registers. The RUB 300,000 annual limit per intermediary for non-qualified investors and the list of assets (bitcoin, ether, Tether USDT) are set out in a draft Bank of Russia ordinance of 11 August 2026 and will apply no earlier than that same date. A comparison of platforms is here.

Bybit fees: spot, futures, deposits and withdrawals

Data as of 15 September 2026 from the exchange's fee schedule, the Trading Fee Structure section of the Bybit help center (a summary of all charges is in Bybit's Fees That You Need to Know). Fees are revised, so the rate should be checked on these pages before a trade.

Crypto deposits are free; withdrawals are charged at the network rate, which is fixed for any amount and shown in the withdrawal window (FAQ on on-chain withdrawals, Bybit help center). As a guide for 15 September 2026, per the CoinDaily review: 0.0002 BTC to withdraw bitcoin and about 1 USDT on the TRON network (TRC-20); the same amount on the Ethereum network costs several times more. Since 23 September 2025, paying fees with the Mantle token (MNT) gives a 25% discount on spot and 10% on linear futures, including USDT-M (FAQ — Paying Trading Fees with MNT). The real cost of an operation is the sum of four components: the maker/taker rate, the network fee, the P2P spread and unnecessary conversions along the "ruble → USDT → coin → USDT → ruble" route.

Products

Spot (397 coins, 532 pairs), perpetual and delivery futures, options, the Unified Trading Account margin account, copy trading, grid and DCA bots, Earn (savings, staking, dual-currency products), a P2P market with more than 60 fiat currencies, and the Bybit Card crypto card.

On risk. Futures and options are traded with leverage: when the price moves against the position, forced liquidation kicks in, and you can lose all your collateral, not "part of the deposit". Copy trading does not remove the risk: you inherit someone else's strategy together with its drawdowns. The calculation mechanics are in Leverage and liquidation.

Security: the 2025 hack and Proof of Reserves

On 21 February 2025 Bybit suffered the largest theft in crypto market history: more than 401,000 ETH worth about $1.5 billion was stolen. The attack came not through a vulnerability at the exchange but through the third-party Safe Wallet multisig service. On 26 February 2025 the FBI linked the incident to North Korea's Lazarus group (Xakep, 28 February 2025). The exchange did not halt withdrawals and closed the shortfall in client balances with its own funds and loans from partners.

Since June 2024 Bybit has published monthly Proof of Reserves reports verified by the auditor Hacken using a Merkle tree (2026 reports, including those of 26 February and 22 April, are on the exchange's website); the stated reserve ratio is above 100%, and the verification code is open on GitHub. The limits of the method: PoR shows assets on a specific date and does not disclose liabilities beyond client balances. The derivatives insurance fund covers negative balances from liquidations, but not hacks or account freezes.

Pros and cons

Pros: the world's second-deepest liquidity, meaning tight spreads and minimal slippage on top pairs; licenses confirmed by regulators (FMA, 28 May 2025; UAE SCA, October 2025); transparent fees of 0.1% on spot, 0.02/0.055% on futures, 0% on P2P; regular Proof of Reserves with an external auditor; a Russian-language interface and working ruble P2P; app ratings of 4.6 on Google Play and 4.7 on the App Store (15 September 2026; ratings on the other platforms are in the user reviews).

Cons: account freezes for the duration of a compliance check with no timeline or explanation, the users' main grievance; no Russian regulatory status, so a dispute with the platform is not protected by Russian law; the $1.5 billion incident of February 2025 was compensated but exposed dependence on external contractors; ruble deposits and withdrawals only through P2P; an interface that is overloaded for a beginner.

FAQ

Do I need a VPN to log in from Russia? No, as of 15 September 2026 the platform is accessible without a VPN. Changing your login country via a VPN is, on the contrary, a typical trigger for security algorithms: the account may be sent for review because the geolocation does not match the verification data.

How do I withdraw rubles from Bybit? Through P2P: sell USDT to a counterparty, and the money arrives by card transfer or via SBP (Faster Payments System). There is no direct withdrawal to a Russian bank card; the exchange fee is 0%.

Do I have to pay tax? Yes, income from digital currency transactions is subject to personal income tax (NDFL) regardless of the exchange's jurisdiction. Rates and the filing procedure are in Crypto tax for individuals in 2026.

Is it legal to use Bybit from Russia? Law 282-FZ does not prohibit owning cryptocurrency or making transactions, but from 1 July 2027 residents must work through intermediaries on the Bank of Russia registers. Bybit is not on the registers, and a user will have no Russian legal protection in a dispute with the platform.

User reviews of Bybit — platform ratings, complaints and quotes — in a separate article.

Sources

• CoinMarketCap: Bybit exchange profile and CoinGecko: Bybit Spot
• Bybit help center: Trading Fee Structure, Bybit's Fees That You Need to Know, FAQ — On-Chain Crypto Withdrawals, FAQ — Paying Trading Fees with MNT
• App pages: Google Play, App Store
• CoinDaily: Bybit review, withdrawal fees and VIP tiers and Datawallet: Bybit Review
• FMA (Austria): authorization of Bybit EU GmbH under MiCAR, 28 May 2025
• CoinDesk: Bybit obtains SCA license in the UAE (9 October 2025)
• Bybit press release: more than 70 million users (19 March 2026)
• Xakep: FBI links the Bybit hack to Lazarus (28 February 2025)
• Hacken: Proof of Reserves audit for Bybit
• Profinvestment: Bybit in Russia in 2026 (5 July 2026)
• GARANT.RU: cryptocurrency, new rules from 1 September 2026