Is Bybit legal in Canada?

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Bybit's own terms exclude Canada. These three platforms are registered here, each picked for a different reason. See all 12 ranked

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Bybit is a large international crypto exchange known for futures and other leveraged trading. Canadians search for it often. But it isn’t registered to serve Canadians, and its own terms say it doesn’t.

What the register says

Crypto platforms that hold coins for Canadians have to be registered with the country’s securities regulators. At our last full check of the register, on 6 November 2026, 11 platforms were. Bybit wasn’t one of them, and it still wasn’t when we looked again on 10 November. It doesn’t appear on the list of registered platforms, the list of platforms that have dropped off, or the list of banned platforms.

You can see the full register, with screenshots, on our registered list.

What Bybit’s own terms say

Bybit’s help centre has a page called “Service Restricted Countries”, last updated 16 October 2026. It cites section 11.3 of the Bybit Platform Terms and Conditions and lists the places where Bybit doesn’t offer services or products. Canada is on that list, as a whole country, alongside the United States, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The same page says that if you give a false location or place of residence, Bybit can close your account straight away and liquidate any open positions.

Some of Bybit’s promotion pages name only Ontario and Quebec as excluded. We take the help centre page, which points to the terms themselves, as Bybit’s current position.

What Bybit agreed with Ontario’s regulator

In 2021, the Ontario Securities Commission brought a case against Bybit Fintech Limited. It ended in a settlement, approved by Ontario’s Capital Markets Tribunal on 22 June 2022.

According to the settlement agreement, Bybit had opened about 368 accounts for Ontario residents since launching in December 2018. It admitted that it traded in securities in Ontario without being registered, and without a prospectus. The tribunal ordered Bybit to:

• pay back US$2,468,910, the revenue it earned from Ontario accounts
• pay C$10,000 towards the cost of the investigation
• accept a formal reprimand

Bybit also gave a written undertaking. It agreed to stop opening new accounts for Ontario residents, to block Ontario IP addresses from signing up, not to offer new products to existing Ontario accounts, and not to market to Ontario investors. If talks about registering failed, it would close its Ontario accounts and return customers’ funds. Bybit still isn’t registered, and its terms now exclude all of Canada.

Watch out for fake Bybit sites

Regulators have also warned about sites that copy the Bybit name. Alberta’s securities regulator added “ByBIT” to its investment caution list on 15 March 2024, linked to the addresses bybit-vip.vip and mobile.bybit-vip.in, and said it isn’t registered in Alberta. Those addresses aren’t Bybit’s main site. Always check the web address before you send money anywhere.

Why registration matters for you

On a registered platform, a Canadian regulator sets rules on how your crypto is held, checks the firm’s finances and can step in if it breaks those rules. On an unregistered one, you rely on the company’s own promises and on the laws of wherever it’s based. If the platform freezes withdrawals or collapses, there’s no Canadian regulator to complain to.

Registration doesn’t make crypto itself safe. Prices can still fall to zero. It just means the company holding your coins answers to someone in Canada.

The Bybit app is in the Canadian App Store

Being listed in an app store isn’t the same as being registered. On 10 November 2026, Apple’s Canadian App Store listed Bybit’s iPhone app from Bybit Fintech Limited, rated 4.7 from about 2,000 ratings. That doesn’t change anything above. Bybit isn’t on the register, and its terms exclude Canada. Our crypto apps comparison lists apps from platforms that are registered.

Registered alternatives

If you want an exchange that answers to Canadian regulators, these are the 11 registered platforms: Bitbuy (and its sister brand Coinsquare), Coinbase, Crypto.com, Fidelity Digital Assets, Kraken, NDAX, Netcoins, Newton, Shakepay, Wealthsimple and Webull. Our comparison of registered exchanges sets out their fees side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bybit banned in Canada?

Not formally. Bybit isn’t on the list of platforms banned by Canadian regulators, which as of November 2026 names KuCoin and Poloniex. But it isn’t registered either, and Bybit’s own terms say it doesn’t serve users in Canada.

Can I use Bybit from Canada?

Bybit’s terms list Canada as an excluded country. Using a VPN to reach a platform that excludes your country usually breaks its terms, and Bybit says it can close accounts and liquidate positions if you misstate where you live.

What happens to my crypto if I already have it on Bybit?

Check Bybit’s own notices about your account, and consider moving your crypto to a wallet you control or to a registered Canadian platform. A Canadian regulator can’t help you recover funds from an unregistered platform.

Sources

Checked 10 November 2026.

• New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission, registered crypto asset trading platforms. Bybit doesn’t appear in the registered, not registered or banned lists.
• Bybit, Service Restricted Countries, last updated 16 October 2026. Lists Canada among the excluded jurisdictions under section 11.3 of its terms.
• Capital Markets Tribunal, order in the matter of Bybit Fintech Limited, 22 June 2022
• Capital Markets Tribunal, settlement agreement in the matter of Bybit Fintech Limited, 9 June 2022
• Alberta Securities Commission, investment caution list entry for ByBIT, added 15 March 2024
• Apple App Store (Canada), Bybit app listing, checked 10 November 2026

We couldn’t read the Ontario Securities Commission’s own news releases about Bybit, or the Canadian Securities Administrators’ investor alerts, because both sites blocked our automated check. The tribunal documents above cover the same settlement.