Bybit review 2026: fees, P2P, card, countries and security

Bybit is worth it for miners outside the US who sell BTC for USDT, cash out through P2P and want a card in Latin America, Georgia or Kazakhstan. Spot fees start at 0.10%, P2P is free for takers in most currencies, and reserves above 100% are published monthly. It does not fit US residents or anyone avoiding custodial risk.

POOL BTC is an independent comparison site, not Bybit and not a mining pool, and this is not financial advice. The figures come from Bybit's help center and announcements, checked on 2026-10-04. Third-party numbers are labeled as such.

What is Bybit?

Bybit is a centralized crypto exchange with spot trading, futures, options, a P2P marketplace, fiat on-ramps and a payment card. For a miner it covers the usual chain: deposit mined BTC, sell it for USDT or local currency, then withdraw, move USDT or spend through the card. Bybit holds your coins, so it is custodial.

Some features depend on the country where you passed KYC, and Bybit runs separate regional entities, including Bybit EU in Austria. The fees below are the global ones.

How much does Bybit charge?

At VIP 0, spot trading costs 0.10% for both maker and taker, perpetuals cost 0.020% maker and 0.055% taker, and fiat-to-crypto pairs cost 0.15% and 0.20%. Paying fees in MNT, Bybit's token, cuts spot fees by 25%. Bybit notes that rates can vary by region, so check "My Fee Rate" in your account before relying on these numbers.

The MNT discount is 25% on spot and 10% on futures, so VIP 0 spot becomes an effective 0.075%. In the EU, a third-party report from August 2026 says Bybit EU moves non-VIP spot to a flat 0.25% from October 5, 2026. Check bybit.eu before trading there.

Withdrawals carry a fixed fee that Bybit adjusts dynamically, and the exact amount shows in the withdrawal window. BTC goes out on the native chain only, without Lightning. Third-party trackers put that fee at roughly $2-$9 in March 2026 depending on the mempool, with a minimum around 0.00027 BTC. For USDT, third-party data shows free withdrawals on Plasma, Bera, Corn, Mantle, Aptos and HyperEVM and about 1 USDT on TRC20. ERC20 costs noticeably more, and the official site does not state the exact figure. Transfers between Bybit accounts are free.

Card deposits through Visa and Mastercard carry a provider fee shown before you pay. EUR moves over SEPA, USD and PLN over SWIFT.

How does P2P work on Bybit?

Bybit P2P is open globally to users with Standard KYC and trades BTC, ETH, USDT and USDC. Takers pay nothing in most currencies, and makers pay 0%-0.3% depending on the currency and advertiser level. For most miners this is the cheapest route from coins to local money, as long as you pick counterparties carefully.

For rubles, the P2P fee page (updated July 28, 2026) lists 0% for takers of buy ads and 0%-0.3% for makers of sell ads. Bybit also announced a fee discount program for RUB merchants on February 13, 2026.

What KYC does Bybit require and what are the limits?

Bybit says Standard KYC, an identity document plus a face scan, is mandatory for all products. It lets you withdraw up to 1,000,000 USDT a day with no monthly cap. Adding proof of address moves you to Advanced, at 2,000,000 USDT a day. Without KYC you cannot deposit or withdraw fiat at all.

The no-KYC row is a legacy tier, so plan on Standard KYC from day one. Bybit's KYC page also says fiat in Argentine pesos and Brazilian reais requires business verification.

Who is Bybit for, and who should skip it?

Bybit fits miners who sell BTC regularly and want low trading fees, free P2P as a taker and cheap USDT transfers on networks like TRC20. It also suits people in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Georgia or Kazakhstan who want a card funded from the exchange balance. A larger miner can reach VIP 1 by holding 100,000 USD in assets.

Skip it if you live in the US, Canada, mainland China, Hong Kong or Singapore. Skip it if you want Lightning withdrawals for small BTC amounts. And do not use it as long-term storage: an exchange balance is a claim on the exchange, and the 2025 hack showed what that means.

Which countries can use Bybit, and what about Russia, CIS and Latin America?

Bybit's official restricted list covers the United States, Canada, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Uzbekistan, Sudan, Syria and the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia is not on that list. Kazakhstan, Georgia, Argentina and other Latin American markets are served, several of them with a local Bybit Card.

A third-party analysis adds the Rostov region, while the current official page names only Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. In Dubai the restriction applies to Bybit's MENA entity, and institutional services run through a separate VARA-licensed entity.

Russia comes with limits. Users who passed KYC with Russian documents can only use rubles in the general fiat service, and USD over SWIFT is restricted, so RUB P2P is the main route. Kazakhstan and Georgia are supported, and third-party sources say Bybit holds an AFSA licence in Kazakhstan and an authorization from the National Bank of Georgia.

Argentina has P2P and an ARS Mastercard prepaid card. Brazil has BRL cards on Mastercard and Visa, Mexico has an MXN card, and Peru got a Visa prepaid card on July 1, 2026, per Bybit's announcement.

Third-party sources report that Bybit EU GmbH in Vienna holds a MiCAR licence from Austria's FMA and that EEA users are being moved to bybit.eu after a regulatory notice dated June 29, 2026. Bybit returned to the UK on December 19, 2025 through the FCA-authorised firm Archax, and to India in February 2025 after FIU-IND registration, also per third-party reports. The US is fully blocked.

Is Bybit safe? The 2025 hack and Proof of Reserves

On February 21, 2025 Bybit lost about $1.5 billion in ETH and staked ETH, and the FBI attributed the theft to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Withdrawals kept working, reserves were restored within 72 hours, and the monthly Proof of Reserves reports since then show every covered token at or above 100%. We found no major incident in public reporting since, through October 2026.

The attack hit a routine transfer from a cold wallet to a warm wallet. Forensics by Sygnia and Verichains, published February 26, 2025, found malicious JavaScript injected into the Safe{Wallet} interface, and Bybit's own infrastructure was not directly breached. The haul was about 401,347 ETH plus stETH and other tokens. Bybit processed 99.9% of more than 350,000 withdrawal requests within 10 hours, covered the gap through loans and purchases, and offered a 10% bounty. The CEO said on February 22 that client assets were backed 1:1, and Hacken confirmed collateral above 100% by February 24.

Proof of Reserves has been monthly since December 2022. The 40th report, snapshot September 23, 2026, published September 30, was checked by Hacken and covers 50 tokens, all at 100% or higher.

One caveat: on August 25, 2026 Arkham Intelligence compared Bybit's stated July total of $16.2 billion with what it could trace on-chain, about $14 billion. The gap may come from wallets Arkham has not attributed or from reserves held off-chain. Passkey login is not mentioned on Bybit's security page.

What does the Bybit Card offer?

The Bybit Card spends from your exchange balance and was available in more than 30 countries as of June 2026. Cashback is 2%-10% depending on region and VIP level. The foreign exchange markup is 0.5% in the EEA and as high as 7% in Argentina, and ATM withdrawals cost 2% once the free monthly allowance is used up.

The card is also issued in the UK, UAE, Turkey (virtual only), Peru and Georgia. It is not available in the US, Canada, China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea or India, and Russia is not among the listed markets. For other options, see our crypto cards by region guide and the card comparison.

How to start on Bybit

1. Open Bybit's sign-up page and register with email or phone.
2. Set a strong password and confirm the verification code.
3. Complete Standard KYC with an identity document and a face scan.
4. Fund the account: send mined BTC to your Bybit deposit address, or buy USDT through P2P.
5. Sell on spot, then withdraw to your own wallet, sell through P2P or spend with the card.

Support runs 24/7 through live chat and tickets, with priority for VIP users. Bybit's referral FAQ lists new-user bonuses such as 10 USDT for depositing at least 100 USD within 7 days. Terms change, so the current ones are on Bybit's referral page.

What are the risks of using Bybit?

Custody comes first. Coins on Bybit are Bybit's liability until you withdraw them, and the 2025 hack showed that one compromised signing interface can cost billions. Bybit covered that loss. A smaller exchange might not have.

Regulation is the second risk. Bybit is moving EEA users to a separate entity, fees can change by region, and Russian users already face limits on fiat rails. If an exchange leaves a market, our article on what to do with funds when an exchange closes, based on BitMEX and BitMart, walks through the steps.

On P2P, check the counterparty's history and confirm the money is in your account before releasing coins. Derivatives can wipe out a deposit fast. None of this is a price forecast or an investment view.

How does Bybit compare with OKX, Binance and Bitget?

Base spot fees are close across all four. OKX has the lowest base maker fee at 0.08% and a MiCA licence in Malta, and Binance has the deepest liquidity. Bitget offers Lightning BTC withdrawals, which Bybit does not. Bybit's case rests on P2P coverage, monthly published reserves and cards in Latin America and Central Asia.

The OKX, Binance and Bitget figures come from third-party fee roundups from August and September 2026, so check each exchange's own fee page. Our exchange comparison lists more platforms. To see how much BTC you will sell each month, run your hardware through our mining calculator.

FAQ

Is Bybit available in Russia?

Yes, Russia is not on Bybit's restricted list. Users with Russian KYC can only use rubles in the general fiat service and cannot use USD over SWIFT, so RUB P2P is the main way to cash out. The Bybit Card is not listed for Russia.

What does it cost to withdraw BTC from Bybit?

A fixed fee that Bybit adjusts dynamically, shown in the withdrawal window. Third-party trackers put it at roughly $2-$9 in March 2026, with a minimum of about 0.00027 BTC. Lightning is not supported.

Can I use Bybit without KYC?

Barely. Bybit says Standard KYC is mandatory for all products. A legacy no-KYC tier capped at 20,000 USDT a day still appears on the limits page, but it gives no fiat access and no P2P.

Did Bybit customers lose money in the 2025 hack?

Bybit kept withdrawals open, processing 99.9% of over 350,000 requests within 10 hours, and restored reserves within 72 hours. Hacken confirmed collateral above 100% by February 24, 2025.

Is the Bybit Card available in Argentina?

Yes, as an ARS Mastercard prepaid card. The foreign exchange fee there is 7% over the Mastercard rate, and ATM withdrawals cost 2% after 95,000 ARS a month.

If Bybit fits your setup, you can open an account on Bybit and send a small BTC deposit first to test withdrawals.

This article contains a referral link: we may receive a reward if you register through it. It does not change the figures or conclusions.