ByBit announced that it will no longer offer services to French users due to changes in regulations. The company made the announcement online on August 1.
In an August 1 letter to clients on its website, Bybit explained the changes affecting users in France. “In light of recent regulatory developments from the French regulator, Bybit will stop offering our products and services to French nationals and residents.” The letter further stated that effective August 2, the accounts of French nationals and residents were restricted to “Close-Only” mode, meaning those users are unable to buy products or add any new positions to their accounts. This includes all products offered by Bybit, from one-click buy, peer-to-peer (P2P), the Bybit Card, all Spot products and derivative products, Bybit Earn, and Bybit structured products. All deposits were also restricted.
As of August 13, accounts that have not been closed will be liquidated, and card services will be suspended. French users will only be able to withdraw assets and funds.
This decision follows a statement made in May by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). According to a press release from AMF, Bybit is “blacklisted” due to “non-compliance with current French regulations.” The press release added that “the AMF reserves the right to take legal action to block the platform’s website.”
One crypto trader expressed dissatisfaction with how his funds were handled prior to the date set by Bybit. Despite meeting France’s know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, his funds were liquidated earlier than expected. “I regret that, as I loved Bybit, and I planned to move my funds in the days to come,” said CryptoWookiee in a post on X. He continued: “I did not bother to shut down my CopyTrading settings as it was clearly mentioned no new positions could be opened. And guess what… #Bybit system continued to open position on 4th and 5th of August crash and I was severely liquidated. My account is French KYCed and this should not have happened.” He questioned why his CopyTrading sub-account was able to open positions after the discontinuation of services: “@bybithelpdesk why was my CopyTrading sub-account able to open position after your discontinuation of services?? It was not supposed to be possible. I want my money back.”
Bybit was created in March 2018 and has positioned itself as a leading cryptocurrency exchange offering a comprehensive suite of cryptocurrency services and product solutions tailored for retail and institutional traders.
