Bybit completes Dubai’s approval marathon; spot trading still awaits the starting pistol

Crypto exchange Bybit has secured the first full Dubai license for spot trading services following its earlier in-principle approval. Bybit said Thursday that its Dubai entity, Bybit Fintech FZE, received a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for exchange services, including spot trading.

VARA’s public register lists the new license as active, allowing Bybit to serve retail, qualified and institutional investors. A Bybit spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the entity’s earlier in-principle approval was non-operational and did not permit it to serve customers in Dubai.

The spokesperson said Bybit must still complete VARA’s launch process and meet operational requirements before starting spot trading services. The company did not provide a launch date.

Bybit previously secured a full Virtual Asset Platform Operator license from the United Arab Emirates’ federal regulator, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), in October 2025. However, service restrictions exclude Dubai from the jurisdictions served by its SCA-licensed entity, Bybit Virtual Asset Platform Operator LLC.

The spokesperson declined to comment on how the VARA license differs from the SCA approval or whether the earlier license permitted services in Dubai.