Bybit is temporarily restricting its services for Indian users starting January 12.
This break comes as the platform completes its registration as a Virtual digital asset service provider with the Financial Intelligence Unit of India, according to to a company announcement.
During this period, Indian users will not be able to open new crypto or fiat transactions, access trading products, or participate in campaigns. Existing derivative positions will be set in “close-only” mode, allowing users to close their positions, but preventing them from making changes or adding to them.
Additionally, peer-to-peer trading ads in INR will be removed, copy trading relationships will be canceled, and trading bots will be disabled from January 13. The retirees, however, were not affected.
Bybit said the move is a response to “recent developments by Indian regulators” and follows previous restrictions. Since March 2023, the Indian government has required all VASP operators, including offshore exchanges, to register under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Bybit’s regulatory issues
This is not the first regulatory hurdle for Bybit. The exchange came out Canada in May 2023, suspended services in the UK from September 2023, and stopped operations in France in August 2024 amid licensing challenges.
In December 2024, the titles of Malaysia the regulator took enforcement action against the exchange for the operation without proper registration.
Bybit has expressed its commitment to resume full services in India once the registration process is complete. The company expects this to happen in the coming weeks and says it aims to align its operations with evolving regulatory frameworks.
“We are committed to resuming full service as soon as we have completed our registration process with FIU,” the announcement read.
