French regulator warns investors Bybit provided services ‘illegally’
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the securities regulator in France, has reiterated a warning to crypto investors that Bybit is blacklisted in the country.
In a May 16 notice, the AMF reminded the French public that Bybit was an unregistered crypto platform operating illegally in the country, offering digital asset services on behalf of third parties. The regulator warned it had the authority to block Bybit’s website “providing its services illegally in France.”
“Unregistered platforms providing these services in France are illegal under French law,” said the AMF. “BYBIT is not registered as a [digital asset service provider].”
According to the AMF, Bybit has been blacklisted since May 2022 “for non-compliance with current French regulations.” Other crypto-related platforms to make the blacklist previously included 24cryptoforextrading.net and cryptoneyx.io, but the regulator has approved registration for Gemini, Coinbase and Circle.
Related: Crypto is second most popular investment asset in France: Survey
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission issued a similar warning in March regarding Bybit as an unregistered crypto trading platform. In response to regulatory scrutiny, Bybit left Canada and the U.K. markets in 2023. The exchange has continued expanding its service globally, launching a regulated crypto trading platform in the Netherlands and Kazakhstan.
Founded in 2018, Bybit is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. On Feb. 27, the platform reported more than $71 billion in trading volume.
