Bybit VARA Licence Review: Spot Trading Features, Fees, and Regulatory Status in Dubai

Bybit announced on October 22, 2026, that its Dubai subsidiary Bybit Fintech FZE received a VARA Virtual Asset Service Provider licence for Exchange Services. The approval covers spot trading for retail, qualified, and institutional users. The licence marks another step in the exchange’s regulatory expansion after it established its international headquarters in Dubai in 2022.

Bybit VARA Licence and Regulatory Status

The VARA licence authorises spot trading of virtual assets but excludes derivatives, which require separate future approval. VARA’s public register still lists Bybit Fintech FZE under In-Principle Approval rather than a fully active VASP licence at the time of writing. Bybit already holds a separate UAE federal Virtual Asset Platform Operator Licence from the Securities and Commodities Authority granted in October 2025 that covers trading, brokerage, custody, and fiat services.

CEO Ben Zhou described the VARA approval as a milestone that strengthens the company’s presence in Dubai’s digital asset ecosystem. Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Peter Loo noted plans to apply for derivatives authorisation later, citing derivatives as a significant portion of Bybit’s global volume. The exchange has obtained five additional regulatory approvals in 2026 across the EU under MiCA, Cayman Islands, Indonesia, South Africa, and El Salvador.

Spot Trading Features and Fees

Bybit spot markets support market, limit, conditional, take-profit/stop-loss, and advanced order types including post-only, immediate-or-cancel, fill-or-kill, and percentage-of-volume orders introduced in October 2026. Traders can place up to 500 active orders per account. The platform lists hundreds of pairs, with the majority of volume concentrated in major pairs such as BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT. Margin trading is available on selected pairs.

Base fees for crypto-to-crypto spot pairs stand at 0.10 percent maker and 0.10 percent taker. Maker discounts begin at VIP 1 and reach 0.03 percent maker and 0.045 percent taker at the Supreme VIP tier, determined by 30-day trading volume or holdings. Certain fiat pairs and specialised zones carry higher rates up to 0.20 percent taker. Users holding the MNT token receive an approximate 25 percent reduction on spot fees. No maximum position limits apply to spot holdings.

Current fee tiers are published on Bybit’s official fee page and remain subject to change with volume-based VIP progression. No hidden withdrawal or custody fees tied to the VARA licence have been disclosed.

Limitations and Outstanding Questions

Full operational rollout under the VARA licence awaits confirmation that the public register reflects active VASP status. Derivatives trading remains outside the current approval scope. User reports on public forums mention occasional delays in large-volume order execution and questions about the timeline for derivatives authorisation. Bybit’s earlier In-Principle Approval dates back to August 2024, indicating a lengthy compliance process that continues beyond the October 2026 announcement.