Bybit joins MAS's "not on our watch" list — Singapore says thanks, but no license 🚫

Singapore's central bank has added crypto exchange Bybit to its Investor Alert List, a regulatory watchlist flagging entities that may be wrongly perceived as licensed or regulated in the city-state. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the addition on June 17, listing both "Bybit Fintech Limited" and "Bybit" on the alert database. The listing does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing; MAS states inclusion identifies persons or entities that, based on information available to the authority, may have been incorrectly perceived as being licensed, authorized, or otherwise regulated by the Singaporean regulator. According to MAS, the Investor Alert List includes entities that may be wrongly perceived as operating under the regulator's supervision or approval, and inclusion does not automatically mean an entity has violated Singapore law. The regulator also notes the list is not exhaustive and reflects information available to the authority at the time of publication.

Based on publicly available information, Bybit is not licensed or regulated by MAS. Singapore is listed among the company's "Service Restricted Countries" on its website, meaning users in the jurisdiction are not permitted to access its services. The exchange was founded by Singaporean entrepreneur Ben Zhou. At the time of publication, Bybit had not publicly commented on the development, and a Bybit spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

The addition of Bybit arrives amid growing regulatory scrutiny of major crypto exchanges worldwide. Bybit remains one of the largest digital asset trading platforms globally and has expanded beyond traditional crypto trading into products including tokenized equities and other financial offerings. Singapore has positioned itself as one of Asia's leading digital asset hubs while maintaining a relatively strict licensing framework for crypto service providers under its Payment Services Act.

MAS has previously added other major crypto-related entities to its Investor Alert List, including Binance.com in 2021, according to The Straits Times. In May, the regulator revoked the Major Payment Institution license of crypto liquidity provider Bsquared Technology, citing what it described as serious regulatory breaches, including weaknesses in risk management and conflict-of-interest policies, along with false or misleading information provided from its initial license application through a subsequent inspection. Separately, Singapore police charged former Hodlnaut CEO Zhu Juntao in May with six counts of fraud for allegedly misleading customers about the crypto lender's exposure to the 2022 Terra ecosystem collapse; Hodlnaut suspended withdrawals in August 2022 and was later ordered to liquidate.