- Bybit resumed access on Thursday, including spot trading for 100 currency pairs.
- FCA financial promotion rules introduced in October 2023 prompted some crypto firms to cease operations in the UK.
- The UK government has said it intends to publish a crypto rulebook by 2027.
Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced it has resumed services in the United Kingdom, nearly two years after tighter rules on the promotion and marketing of crypto products prompted the company to withdraw.
The firm, which says it has around 80 million users globally, relaunched UK access on Thursday with a suite of products that includes spot trading across 100 currency pairs, according to CoinDesk.
The move comes as the Financial Conduct Authority continues to scrutinize how crypto services are advertised to UK residents, while the UK government has signaled it aims to deliver a comprehensive crypto rulebook by 2027.
Why Bybit left and what has changed
In October 2023 the FCA tightened its financial promotions regime for crypto advertising, triggering a wave of operational changes across the industry and leading several firms to stop UK activity.
Bybit told CoinDesk that its return is built around meeting the FCA’s financial promotion standards, with an emphasis on clearer communications and greater transparency for UK users.
The company is not licensed in the UK, but says it will operate within a framework designed to comply with the FCA’s promotion requirements.
This framework matters because, under the rules, crypto marketing aimed at UK consumers must be approved by an authorised firm unless an exemption applies.
What UK users can access now
Bybit said UK customers can once again use its services, including spot trading across 100 currency pairs, according to CoinDesk.
The exchange described the relaunch as a reopening of UK services rather than a limited pilot, framing it as a return to the market following regulatory shifts.
Bybit’s policy team characterized the UK as a market with a sophisticated financial ecosystem and clearer regulatory direction, saying the exchange intends to roll out products tailored for UK users while prioritising transparency and compliance.
How Archax enables compliant crypto promotions
To support its UK activities, Bybit will operate and market services through London-based crypto exchange Archax.
Archax holds a specialist FCA permission that allows it to approve financial promotions, a route that enables unauthorised firms to lawfully market and provide services to UK consumers.
Archax said it supports Bybit’s compliant access to the UK market and pointed to prior work helping other major exchanges, according to CoinDesk, including enabling Coinbase and OKX to reach UK users without needing their own direct authorisation.
What the 2027 crypto rulebook signal means
Alongside the FCA’s tougher stance on promotions, the UK government has indicated it intends to set out a crypto rulebook by 2027.
The announcement has raised expectations of a clearer operating environment for exchanges, even as marketing standards remain a primary gatekeeper for consumer-facing activity in the near term.
Industry observers view the developing regime as another test of how large global crypto platforms re-enter the UK without holding direct regulatory authorisation, relying instead on approved-firm routes under the evolving financial promotions framework.