Cryptocurrency exchange ByBit has announced that it is relaunching a crypto platform in the United Kingdom two years after pausing its operations. The Dubai-based firm wound down its services in late 2023 as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed stricter financial promotion regulations.
Bybit To Offer 100 Spot Trading Pairs To UK Users
In a press release dated Friday, December 19, ByBit disclosed that it is reentering the UK’s crypto scene after its exit in 2023. According to the report, the exchange’s new UK platform will be offering spot trading on 100 digital asset pairs and peer-to-peer (P2P) trading.
This new launch represents a return for Bybit who paused its operations in the United Kingdom in September 2023 due to the new FCA marketing rules that were set for enforcement later in October that year. These new rules, which centered around solicitation and a cooling-off period for first-time investors, came at a time when the global crypto regulatory landscape was only just starting to take shape.
In its announcement, Bybit said that its fresh UK operations follow rigorous anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) standards and comply with the region’s financial promotion requirements. This was achieved through an arrangement with Archax, the first FCA-approved digital asset exchange, brokerage, and custodian in the UK.
Mykolas Majauskas, Bybit’s senior director of policy, said in a statement:
Our goal is to give UK users reliable access to global opportunities in digital assets. The UK is home to one of the most sophisticated financial ecosystems in the world, and its clear regulatory direction makes it an ideal environment for responsible innovation. In the months ahead, we aim to embody this innovative spirit by introducing new products tailored to the needs of UK users, always within a framework that prioritises transparency, and compliance.
Bybit’s return to the UK’s cryptocurrency market appears to be strategic, as the region continues to make huge strides in terms of growth and adoption since the turn of the decade. The FCA recently estimated that 8% of adults in the United Kingdom now own crypto assets.
It is worth noting that this ownership figure appears to be declining, having stood at 12% a year ago. While the drop marks the first dip in overall crypto ownership numbers in the last four years, the current figure is still double the level seen as of 2021.
Total Crypto Market Capitalization
As of this writing, the total crypto market capitalization stands at around $2.95 trillion, reflecting a 0.07% jump so far on Saturday, December 20. According to data from TradingView, the digital asset market has declined by over 2.6% decline in the past week.
