Bybit Review 2026: The World's Second-Largest Exchange With 80 Million Users, Banned in the US, and Built for Derivatives Traders

TL;DR: Bybit is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, founded in 2018 by Ben Zhou and headquartered in Dubai since its 2022 relocation from Singapore. It serves over 80 million registered users across 160-plus countries, processes over $20 billion in daily trading volume across spot and derivatives markets, and operates a matching engine capable of handling 100,000 transactions per second. Spot trading fees are 0.1 percent for both makers and takers at entry level, with derivatives maker fees starting at 0.02 percent and taker fees at 0.055 percent. Bybit does not accept US users due to regulatory restrictions. It maintains an insurance fund exceeding $400 million and conducts quarterly Merkle proof-of-reserves audits. Products include spot trading, perpetual futures with up to 100x leverage, options, copy trading, automated grid and DCA bots, and an earn section for yield products. App Store rating is 4.7 out of 5 from 46,000 ratings. Google Play rating is 4.5 from 1.39 million reviews. MediaCrypto verdict: Bybit is the strongest choice for active derivatives traders outside the US who want deep liquidity, competitive fees, and a full-stack trading ecosystem. It is not appropriate for absolute beginners due to its derivatives-first design, and not available to US residents at all.

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What Bybit Is and Who Built It

Bybit was founded in 2018 by Ben Zhou, who remains CEO. The exchange launched as a derivatives-focused platform, specifically targeting the professional crypto futures market that Bitmex had pioneered but with a cleaner interface and more competitive fees. It relocated its global headquarters from Singapore to Dubai in 2022 as the UAE expanded its crypto regulatory framework, making Dubai a more natural home for a global derivatives exchange.

From those origins, Bybit has expanded significantly. It is now a full-stack exchange combining spot markets, perpetuals, options, copy trading, automated bots, P2P markets, Web3 wallet features, and an earn section. But the derivatives heritage remains central: Bybit's primary competitive strength is in futures and perpetuals, where its liquidity depth, fee structure, and tooling are specifically designed for active traders.

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Who Can and Cannot Use Bybit

Bybit does not accept users from the United States. This is one of the most important facts about the platform and the primary reason it does not appear on most US-focused exchange comparisons. US residents who want access to futures trading with leverage at comparable depth and fee levels have significantly fewer options than Bybit's global user base.

Outside the US, Bybit operates in 160-plus countries. Availability of specific features including margin trading and futures is restricted in certain jurisdictions such as the UK and parts of the EU for retail clients, reflecting MiFID and MiCA regulatory constraints on leveraged products for non-professional investors.

In the UK specifically, Bybit is not registered with the FCA and cannot legally market to UK retail clients under current FCA rules for crypto derivatives. European users should verify current availability of specific products for their jurisdiction before depositing.

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Fees: Where Bybit Genuinely Competes

Spot trading on Bybit charges 0.1 percent for both makers and takers at entry level, with VIP tiers reducing fees based on 30-day trading volume and BIT token holdings. At entry level, 0.1 percent per side is competitive with Binance's equivalent tier and significantly below Coinbase Advanced Trade's entry-level taker fees.

Derivatives fees are where Bybit is most competitive. Perpetual futures maker fees start at 0.02 percent and taker fees at 0.055 percent, declining to maker rebates and 0.012 percent taker fees at the highest VIP tiers. These are among the lowest fees available on any major exchange for perpetual futures trading, particularly for institutional-scale volume.

Options fees follow a similar maker-taker structure at competitive rates. The combination of deep perpetual liquidity and low derivatives fees is the core reason professional and semi-professional traders outside the US choose Bybit.

Non-trading costs include network-based crypto withdrawal fees, margin interest on borrowed positions, and perpetual funding rates that vary with market conditions. There are no inactivity fees.

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Security: What the Record Shows

Bybit has maintained a relatively clean security record since its 2018 founding, with no major hacks reported as of mid-2026. The exchange stores approximately 80 percent of user assets in offline cold storage, with hot wallets covering operational liquidity. Hardware security modules (HSMs) manage cryptographic key operations. Mandatory two-factor authentication applies to all withdrawals, with withdrawal address whitelisting, anti-phishing codes, and device management alerts as additional layers.

The insurance fund exceeds $400 million as of early 2026, designed to cover losses from liquidation cascades and prevent socialized losses among profitable traders during extreme market volatility. Bybit conducts quarterly Merkle tree proof-of-reserves audits, publishing cryptographic verification that allows users to independently confirm their balances.

The most significant concern in Bybit's security profile is not an exchange-level breach but the concentration of counterparty risk in a platform that does not hold bank-grade regulatory licences in most major jurisdictions. Bybit should be treated as a trading venue rather than a long-term custody solution. Keep only the capital you actively need for trading on the platform. Move profits to self-custody or a more regulated custodian regularly.

Bybit's Trustpilot score of 3.2 from 6,942 reviews is lower than its app store ratings (4.7 on App Store, 4.5 on Google Play), a pattern common across major exchanges where app experience reviews strongly positive while complaint-driven review sites capture the edge cases of account checks, withdrawal delays, and support issues.

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The Product Suite: Beyond Spot and Futures

Copy trading allows users to automatically replicate the positions of selected traders on Bybit's platform, with performance statistics, drawdown history, and profit share terms visible before following. This is one of the most developed copy trading infrastructures among major exchanges and is specifically useful for traders who want exposure to active crypto strategies without managing positions directly.

Automated trading bots include grid trading bots (that buy low and sell high within defined price ranges) and DCA bots (that automatically dollar-cost average into positions on a schedule). These are accessible through the Bybit interface without requiring external tools or coding knowledge.

The Earn section offers yield products including flexible savings, fixed-term deposits, and structured products on crypto assets. Yields vary with market conditions and are not guaranteed.

Bybit's Web3 features include an integrated non-custodial wallet and on-chain tools that extend the platform from a pure centralized exchange into a broader crypto ecosystem. The Web3 wallet allows direct DeFi interaction without leaving the Bybit environment.

Aurora AI, Bybit's integrated AI analysis tool, provides market suggestions and pattern recognition within the trading interface. The feature is more useful as a reference input than as a sole basis for trading decisions.

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Bybit vs Binance vs Coinbase

Bybit occupies a specific position in the exchange landscape that is worth stating clearly. Against Binance, Bybit offers similar derivatives depth and fee competitiveness but significantly fewer spot trading pairs and less geographic coverage. Against Coinbase, Bybit offers dramatically lower fees and better derivatives access but no US availability and significantly lower regulatory standing.

For a non-US active derivatives trader, Bybit is competitive with or better than any alternative on fees and liquidity. For a US beginner, Bybit is simply unavailable. For an institutional client needing bank-grade custody and regulatory standing, Bybit is not the right platform.

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About the Author

This article was researched and written by the MediaCrypto editorial team. MediaCrypto is a cryptocurrency news and market analysis publication covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, altcoins, regulatory developments, and market trends. Follow us on X at @MediaCrypto_AI and on Instagram.

FAQ — Bybit Review 2026

Is Bybit available in the US? No. Bybit does not accept users from the United States due to regulatory restrictions. US residents must use locally compliant exchanges such as Coinbase or Kraken.

What are Bybit's fees in 2026? Spot trading charges 0.1 percent for both makers and takers at entry level. Perpetual futures maker fees start at 0.02 percent and taker fees at 0.055 percent, with VIP tiers reducing fees further. There are no inactivity fees.

Has Bybit ever been hacked? No major hack has been reported as of mid-2026. Bybit stores approximately 80 percent of assets in cold storage, maintains an insurance fund exceeding $400 million, and conducts quarterly Merkle proof-of-reserves audits. The exchange should still be treated as a trading venue rather than a long-term custody solution.

How many users does Bybit have? Bybit serves over 80 million registered users globally across 160-plus countries. It is the world's second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, processing over $20 billion in daily volume across spot and derivatives markets.

Is Bybit good for beginners? Bybit's derivatives-first design makes it less intuitive for absolute beginners compared to Coinbase or Kraken's standard interfaces. Beginners who want to start with spot trading can use Bybit's spot interface, but should avoid margin and futures products until they have significant trading experience.

Visit Bybit: https://www.bybit.com

Read also: Coinbase Review 2026 — https://mediacrypto.ai/news/coinbase-review-2026-the-worlds-most-regulated-exchange-after-the-sec-lawsuit-th

Read also: Kraken Review 2026 — https://mediacrypto.ai/news/kraken-review-2026-14-years-zero-customer-fund-hacks-500-plus-cryptos-and-the-ho

This article is for informational purposes only. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.