The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the French securities regulator, has reiterated its warning to cryptocurrency investors regarding the blacklisting of Bybit in the country.
In a notice dated May 16, the AMF recalled that Bybit is an unregistered cryptocurrency platform operating illegally in the country, providing digital asset services on behalf of third parties. The regulator warned that it had the power to block the Bybit site “which illegally provides its services in France”.
“Unregistered platforms offering these services in France are illegal under French law,” the AMF said. “BYBIT is not registered as a (digital asset service provider).”
According to the Arab Monetary Fund, Bybit has been blacklisted since May 2022 “for non-compliance with current French regulations”. 24cryptoforextrading.net and cryptoneyx.io were other cryptocurrency-related platforms that were previously blacklisted, but the regulator approved the registration of Gemini, Coinbase and Circle.
about: Cryptocurrencies are the second most popular investment asset in France: survey
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission issued a similar warning in March regarding Bybit as an unregistered cryptocurrency trading platform. In response to regulatory review, Bybit exited the Canadian and UK markets in 2023. The exchange continued to expand its services globally, launching a regulated cryptocurrency trading platform in the Netherlands and Kazakhstan.
Founded in 2018, Bybit is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. On February 27, the platform announced a trading volume of over $71 billion.
review: SEC and Ripple affair nears end, Grayscale withdraws ETF deposit, and more: Hodler’s Digest, May 5-11
