ByBit Pulls Out of France, Citing Increasing Regulatory Pressures

Crypto Reporter

Shalini Nagarajan

Crypto Reporter

Shalini Nagarajan

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Shalini is a crypto reporter who provides in-depth reports on daily developments and regulatory shifts in the cryptocurrency sector.

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August 2, 2024 00:03 EDT

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ByBit on Thursday announced its departure from France due to recent regulatory actions by the French authorities. The company said that it would no longer offer products and services to French nationals and residents.

Starting Aug. 2, ByBit will restrict French users’ accounts to “close-only” mode, prohibiting the opening of new positions or the addition of any deposits.

France-based users have been instructed to close all open positions across all products and start withdrawing their assets. From Aug. 13, any positions that remain open will be automatically liquidated.

Additionally, card services for French clients will be suspended. These clients will still have the option to withdraw any remaining funds from their ByBit accounts.

ByBit said it still intends to re-enter the French market once it obtains the necessary regulatory licenses under French law.

France’s AMF Blacklists ByBit, Cites Regulatory Non-Compliance

It follows a warning from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France’s financial regulatory body in May, when investors were advised to avoid trading on ByBit. The exchange had faced scrutiny in France due to its non-compliance with existing regulations. Consequently, the French regulator added the platform to its blacklist on May 20, 2022.

“ByBit is not authorized to provide its digital asset services in France,” the notice read.
Additionally, the AMF highlighted that ByBit had not obtained a digital asset service provider (DASP) license in France. The regulator also noted that it held the authority to take legal measures to block access to the platform’s website.

“Unregistered platforms providing these services in France are illegal under French law,” AMF reiterated.

ByBit Added to Hong Kong’s List of Suspicious Exchanges

The AMF similarly issued a warning against Bitget in April, reminding users of its blacklisting in Nov. 2023. In March, Hong Kong’s markets regulator added ByBit to its list of suspicious crypto exchanges and included several ByBit products on its suspicious investment products list.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) warned that investors risk losing their entire investment and stated its readiness to take enforcement action if necessary.