Bybit has removed China from the list of countries whose citizens are not allowed to use its services.
CryptoSlate confirmed this development on June 5 via the stock exchange website and noted that the list still includes other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong.
It is unclear whether Bybit has obtained licenses to operate in China. However, industry observers believe that this move could attract millions of Chinese users to the platform.
Earlier today, Wu Blockchain reported that the crypto exchange was allowing Chinese users to register. The journalist added:
“Bybit’s competitors have essentially opened registration to Chinese users. However, Bybit’s move has also caused panic among internal employees.”
According to CoinMarketCap, Bybit is the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, processing more than $4 billion in transactions in the past 24 hours. Blockchain analytics company Nansen’s currency reserve dashboard shows that customers hold more than $7 billion in assets on the platform.
At the time of writing, Bybit has not publicly commented on the development or responded to requests for comment.
China’s anti-crypto stance
Bybit’s decision to set up shop in China is unexpected, given the country’s strict regulatory stance towards the crypto industry. China initially banned crypto transactions in 2013 and expanded the ban to crypto mining activities in 2021.
These anti-crypto regulations forced several crypto platforms, including Binance and HTX (formerly Huobi), to stop serving customers in mainland China after authorities banned foreign exchanges from providing services to mainland investors.
Despite the ban, reports suggest that crypto traders in China have found alternative ways to participate in the crypto market. A chain analysis report ranked China as the third Asian country with the highest crypto activity, stating that Chinese crypto received transactions worth $86.4 billion between 2022 and 2023.