Crypto Exchange Bybit Is No Longer Operating Illegally in France

Crypto exchange Bybit is no longer illegally operating in France in the eyes of the country's financial regulator, its CEO said Friday.

The exchange was on France's regulatory blacklist for more than two years, Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, said in an X post on Friday.

"After more than two years of working with the French regulator through multiple remediation efforts, BYBIT is now officially removed from France AMF blacklist," he said.

A search of the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) database confirms that Bybit, the second largest global exchange by volume, is no longer on the blacklist.

Just last May the regulator was advising people that Bybit was not registered to operate in the country and encouraged investors to make arrangements so that the platform eventually "ceases." Soon after the notice, Bybit said it would stop offering products to French nationals.

But now the exchange's CEO is hopeful it will be able to get a Markets in Crypto Assets license (MiCA).

"MiCA license next," Zhou said on X. Companies are striving to get the coveted MiCA license, which would let them operate across the 30 European Economic Area nations.

The Dubai-based exchange knows how to make a comeback after receiving warnings from regulators. Recently, Bybit managed to secure a license in India after paying a $1 million fine.

Neither Bybit nor the AMF returned requests for comment.