Key takeaways:
- The French securities regulator, the AMF, has again cautioned crypto investors that Bybit is blocked nationwide.
- The watchdog issued a warning, stating that it was able to stop Bybit’s website from offering its services “illegally in France.”
The French securities regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has again cautioned crypto investors that Bybit is blocked nationwide.
The AMF reminded the French public on May 16 that Bybit was an unregistered crypto platform that was operating unlawfully in the nation and providing digital asset services for other people. The watchdog issued a warning, stating that it was able to stop Bybit’s website from offering its services “illegally in France.” The AMF stated:
“Unregistered platforms providing these services in France are illegal under French law. BYBIT is not registered as a DASP. The AMF reserves the right, under the terms of the Monetary and Financial Code, to take legal action to block the website of this platform, which is providing its services illegally in France.”
One of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, Bybit, was established in 2018. On February 27, the platform saw a trading volume of approximately $71 billion.
Bybit has been placed on a blacklist since May 2022, according to the AMF, due to “non-compliance” with existing French legislation. The regulator has authorized Gemini, Coinbase, and Circle’s registrations. Prior to this, 24cryptoforextrading.net and cryptoneyx.io were among the other crypto-related websites that were placed on the blacklist.
Similar cautions were issued by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in March about Bybit being an unlicensed crypto trading platform. After being under regulatory investigation, Bybit exited the UK and Canadian markets in 2023.
The exchange has launched a regulated crypto trading platform in Kazakhstan and the Netherlands as part of its ongoing worldwide business expansion.
In a recent announcement, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong designated the derivatives exchange Bybit, based in Dubai, along with 11 of its products as “suspicious.” Bybit was added to the SFC’s “Suspicious Virtual Asset Trading Platforms Alert List” due to questionable and illegal activity in Hong Kong.
