Hong Kong regulator lists Bybit as ‘suspicious’ crypto trading platform in latest alert
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit was classified as a “suspicious” crypto trading platform by Hong Kong’s financial regulator, even as the firm’s local entity, Spark Fintech, submitted its crypto exchange license application earlier this year.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on Thursday updated its list of “suspicious virtual asset trading platforms” to include Bybit. The SFC also identified 11 products offered by Bybit as suspicious.
The “suspicious” investment products are Bybit Futures Contracts and Inverse Futures Contracts, Bybit Options, Bybit Leveraged Tokens, Dual Asset, Dual Asset 2.0, Bybit Shark Fin, Liquidity Mining, ETH 2.0 Liquid Staking, Bybit Web3 Staking, Bybit Lending, and Bybit Wealth Management, according to the SFC’s website.
“The SFC is concerned that these products have also been offered to Hong Kong investors and wishes to make it clear that no entity in the Bybit group is licensed by or registered with the SFC to conduct any ‘regulated activity’ in Hong Kong,” the SFC said in a statement.
“At this time, we are unable to comment on any specific product or regulatory inquiry,” a Bybit spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Block. “Since different products are listed for various regions to meet local compliance requirements, you can be confident that these products are not available in the Hong Kong market.”
Ongoing license review
The regulator noted that the aforementioned activities were conducted by bybit.com, operated by Bybit Fintech Limited, a Seychelles company. That’s distinct from the separate website bybit.com.hk, which is managed by Spark Fintech Limited, a Bybit entity incorporated in Hong Kong.
In January, Spark Fintech submitted its license application with the SFC to operate as a “virtual asset trading platform,” according to the regulator’s list of applicants.
© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
