Bybit Overview

Introduction

Bybit is a relative newcomer to the cryptocurrency exchange market, created in March 2018. With over five million users worldwide, they’re one of the fastest-growing exchanges to date.

To support their growth rate, they currently support 12 languages, including English, Spanish, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, French, Russian, and several others. Bybit is constantly adding to this total, which is always nice to see from an exchange, opening it up to a broader audience.

Bybit is registered in Singapore but has been delisted by the Financial Conduct Authority in March 2021. The FCA saw derivatives trading as a risky investment in an extremely volatile market and banned all cryptocurrency derivative trading which resulted in Bybit being delisted. While it’s not a cause for concern, it’s something you should be aware of. Other crypto exchanges such as Binance have faced similar issues in the past year.

The one important thing to note is that as Bybit isn’t listed by the FCA, you can’t use their financial ombudsman or have access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if things go wrong for you.

Is Bybit Safe?

As far as we can tell, Bybit is a secure service for users to trade cryptocurrency.

The exchange has never been hacked, and as an extra precaution, when a user transfers crypto to their account, it’s immediately placed on a cold wallet. Since cold wallets aren’t connected to the internet, they’re harder to hack and provide the user with an additional layer of security.

To secure your access to your account, you can activate Google 2FA, which will be required for login, withdrawals, password resets, security setting changes, and API management. The 2FA makes it incredibly difficult for any unsavoury characters from taking control of your account without your verification. You can also set SMS authentication to protect login, password reset, and security settings.

Bybit recommends you consider adding a password or Face ID to your device so no unauthorised individuals can access your crypto account if your device is lost or stolen.
Throughout the setup process, Google Authenticator wouldn’t sync with my Bybit account, making it virtually impossible for me to buy and sell using the Bybit app. To get around this, we had to jump through many hoops to verify our identity, including sending selfies while holding a passport and a short video.

It ended up being a Google Authenticator issue, but we didn’t have the smoothest of experiences. Bybit does seem to take their verification process seriously, so at least there’s that.

One aspect we would like to see added is the use of anti-phishing codes. Statistics show over 96% of phishing scams come from emails; having a unique code included on each official email will ensure you can spot the difference between a scam email and a legitimate one.

Getting Started

Which cryptos can you buy on Bybit?

Bybit currently has about 200 assets available covering DeFi, NFTs, Metaverse, GamFi, and many others. They offer the most popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Luna, XRP, Mana, Solana, Shib, and Cardano, to name but a few.

Unfortunately, Bybit’s cryptocurrency offering isn’t as extensive as other exchanges such as Binance. But, they are slowly increasing their cryptocurrency offering, which is always a good thing to see. While they cover most of the popular coins and tokens, if you’re looking to invest in moonshots, you might be better off with another exchange.

Sign-up / Verification Process

The sign-up and verification processes are relatively smooth and took us about 10 minutes. Being able to set up an account this quickly is always a positive experience. During the setup, you need to confirm your email address by entering the unique code they send to you. Once you’ve done this, your account is active.

However, before you buy crypto, you require further verification; you’ll need your passport, driver’s license, or other forms of photographic ID. You’re then required to take a video of yourself moving your head around in circles; this is quite common practice now and has no cause for alarm.

This verification procedure took no longer than 6 minutes to complete, which is pretty fast for an exchange; We’ve waited hours for other services to verify our account in the past. A nice additional touch is the verification progress bar, showing you what stage your account is currently at.

Funding Methods

While the signup process and verification went well, things are a little more complex when it comes to funding your newly created account. You can fund your Bybit account by either depositing cryptocurrency or by using a payment channel to purchase crypto using your debit or credit cards. Bybit also offers P2P trading as a way to fund your account.

Unfortunately, Bybit no longer supports direct fiat deposits. This is a shame as it’s the easiest and most common way to fund a trading account. Bybit solves this issue by using third-party businesses to handle all fiat-based transactions.

There are several third parties to select from, each offering varying exchange rates. We opted for Cabital, as it provides the best rates, has zero fees, and boasts an instant transaction to your Bybit account.

Bybit funding methods
Bybit funding methods. Source: Bybit.com

However, this adds complexity which we’ve felt immediately as we tried to fund our account. Because Google Authenticator hadn’t synced correctly to our Bybit account and Cabital account, we were unable to access our funds for a while.

Luckily, both Cabital and Bybit had good customer service and solved the issue promptly. We have since funded our account again, and everything ran smoothly, with the deposit showing in our Bybit account within minutes. While this wasn’t a Bybit issue, it is a good example of why we recommend beginners to go for an exchange that supports direct fiat deposits.

Withdrawal Methods

If you’re looking to withdraw your cryptocurrency into your fiat bank accounts, you’ll go through the same process in reverse and send your assets to services such as Bybit’s partner Cabital. From there, you’ll be able to transfer your crypto into fiat and into your personal bank accounts.

Transactions should be in your bank account within seconds, but once again, relying on third-party service to provide a core service feels unnecessary and cumbersome.

For large withdrawals of over 70ETH, transactions aren’t as quick. Bybit processes withdrawals three times a day at 08:00, 16:00, and 00:00 UTC, with a cut-off time set 30 minutes before these times.
You’ll also have a withdrawal limit of either 50 BTC or 100 BTC, depending on your verification level, but that is rather common.

Bybit identity verification
Bybit identity verification. Source: Bybit.com

Fees

Bybit offers an extremely attractive fee structure which is one of the best we’ve come across. The fees vary between 0.01% to 0.1% depending on the type of transaction you’re looking to make, meaning you get more crypto for your fiat.

Bybit trading fees
Bybit trading fees. Source: Bybit.com

For example, if you’re looking at buying $10k in Bitcoin (BTC), the fee would equate to roughly $10, which will hardly break the bank considering the size of the purchase. It’s certainly less than you’d pay from other exchanges such as Coinbase, which charges between 0.5%-4.5%.

Bybit offers a tier system that lowers the transaction fee the more you spend. The table below shows a breakdown of the trading volume you need to reach to have access to lower fees.

Bybit VIP trader fees
Bybit VIP trader fees. Source: Bybit.com

As you can see, to reach VIP 1 level, you’d need to hit a trading volume over $1M. But, if you’re a beginner trader looking to start trading crypto, you’ll be happy to know you won’t be ripped off by extortionate fees.

The Platform

Platforms & Ease of Use

Bybit supports both web browser and mobile apps on its exchange. The web browser provides more options and displays more information on each page, making it ideal for more advanced traders who like to see more market details such as trading volume and charts.

The web browser version is brilliantly laid out, showing information clearly, and advanced users will be pleased with it.

Bybit trading view
Bybit trading view. Source: Bybit.com

Casual traders and beginners might be a little overwhelmed, as we’ve mentioned a few times in this review already. However, if you’re still intent on going with Bybit as a beginner, we can recommend the app.

Mobile App

Bybit mobile app home screen
Bybit mobile app home screen. Source: Bybit app
Bybit mobile app assets screen
Bybit mobile app assets screen. Source: Bybit app

The Bybit exchange app looks fantastic and is extremely easy to use, making it a good choice for beginners. The app is available for Android and iOS, and we haven’t run into any bugs while testing the app.

One of the best features is how easy it is the quick access menu as you open the app. This allows you to access Bybit’s key features such as buying crypto, depositing, NFTs, and staking using the ByFi centre.

Having all of the main features available in one click makes the app effortlessly smooth. The live chat feature is easy to access on the mobile app, and you can speak to a customer support staff member in less than 1 minute.

If you’re looking to make quick trades on the go, the mobile app is the most accessible and is super simple to use.

Trading Features

Bybit provides excellent features for more advanced traders. The exchange supports margin trading (short and long positions), leveraging, offers many order types, and allows you to implement a stop loss/stop limit.

A key trading feature is the high levels of leverage you can use. Bybit’s USDT Perpetual Contracts allow users to have access to 100x leverage, so advanced users can use this as a fantastic form of risk management during their trading. There are also Inverse Perpetual, Inverse Futures, and USDC Perpetual derivatives available.

These features make Bybit an excellent option for advanced users looking to increase their earnings by leveraging their cryptocurrency assets while implementing advanced trading methods.

Bybit risk alert
Bybit risk alert. Source: Bybit.com

Volume & Liquidity

As of writing this review, Bybit has a daily trading volume of approximately $338 million. It’s currently the 7th most popular exchange in the crypto market, and Coinmarketcap gives the exchange a liquidity rating of 640 out of 1000, which is above average.

Overall, Bybit has satisfying liquidity and you shouldn’t have any trading issues due to a lack of liquidity.

Additional Features

The Bybit Wallet

The Bybit exchange allows you to not only swap your crypto from one type to another but also allows you to store your assets in their wallet.

The wallet is automatically set up for you, so once you buy your cryptocurrency, it’s stored on your account until you decide to trade it. This allows you to not have to worry about moving your assets to a wallet each time you buy.

With the Bybit wallet, you can send cryptocurrencies to your Bybit wallet, including BTC, ETH, BIT, USDT, XRP, DOGE, DOT, XLM, MANA, and so many others. We have tested this feature and it’s pretty simple to use; however, be sure to send your crypto to the correct wallet address.

Withdrawing your cryptocurrency is as simple as depositing; again, we recommend you always double-check your withdrawal address before you confirm your transfer. Bybit isn’t responsible for incorrect transactions, and they state they can’t refund you if you send it to the wrong account.

If you want to transfer your assets to a cold wallet, you can do so with similar steps to transferring to a hot wallet.

Overall the wallet is simple to use and is suitable for all experience levels, and making a deposit or withdrawal only takes a few clicks.

It’s worth mentioning you’ll need to authenticate your withdrawals using the Google Authenticator app, and that there is a minimum transfer required for each cryptocurrency, e.g. 0.02 ETH or 0.001 BTC.

Staking on Bybit

Bybit offers some of the best staking options we’ve come across with high APY’s and unfixed staking periods.

Bybit deposits your interest daily directly to your Bybit account, which is nice to see. We appreciate being able to unstake our cryptocurrency anytime. This is a highly attractive prospect as you’ll be able to increase your holdings without having to lock your cryptocurrency away for extended periods.

When it comes to Bybit’s interest rates for staking, they are a mixed bag. Some are astounding, offering 200% APY, while others are slightly lower than you’d find on other exchanges. Although they have “Limited Time Only” offers where you’ll get higher than average rates if you stake your crypto within the time limit, an example of this can be seen below.

Bybit staking offers
Bybit staking offers. Source: Bybit.com

As you can see, when writing this review, you can stake GMX at 200% APR, which is incredible, and it would be difficult to find another offer like that.

Bybit staking
Bybit staking. Source: Bybit.com

Bybit also offers other ways to earn interest on your cryptocurrencies, such as Dual Asset Mining, DeFi Mining, and Launchpool. This gives you many options to increase your current holdings and brings you a passive income.

In DeFi Mining, your staked assets provide liquidity to Curve pools (Curve is a popular automated market maker). In return, you earn a share of each transaction fee and Curve’s governance token CRV. Your newly mined tokens are sold and your earnings are automatically deposited into your Bybit Earn account.

Bybit’s Launchpool enables you to stake and earn tokens for free. Any tokens you’ve staked can be unstaked whenever you want. The amount you earn depends on the number of tokens you have in the pool, you can earn your staking currency, new tokens, and USDT simultaneously.

Lending/Borrowing

Bybit does allow users to lend cryptocurrency using their OTC lending platform without requiring credit checks.

To borrow or lend crypto, you must provide collateral. The collateral varies between each type of cryptocurrency; it allows you to borrow fiat while using your crypto for collateral. This enables you to keep your crypto assets during an emergency where you need fiat.

Three OTC lending options are available on Bybit; they provide the latest details on their customer support page.

During the lending phase, your crypto is only at risk if you fail to repay the loan or if your collateral (your crypto) falls below the value of your loan, which from experience is the main risk of using crypto as collateral.

To apply for an OTC loan, you are required to email [email protected], and they shall assist you from there.

It’s a shame Bybit doesn’t enable you to apply for the loan directly through the app. We contacted Bybit’s support team and they confirm the need to email their financial department to apply for the loan.

Bybit lending customer support
Bybit lending customer support. Source: Bybit.com

Customer Support

If you’ve read this far, you know we’ve had some issues with Bybit, which allowed us to try out Bybit’s 24/7 customer support. Many exchanges have lackluster support, but we were impressed with Bybit. Their customer support was quick, efficient, knowledgeable, and managed to solve our problem quickly through a series of emails.

Bybit also has a rich help page with FAQs and “how-to” guides to help with any problems you might have. Each guide uses a series of well-written instructions and screenshots to explain how to use popular functions on the Bybit exchange.

It’s clear Bybit has put a lot of effort into their customer support, so if you have any issues with the exchange, you can get it sorted in no time at all.

My only peeve with Bybit’s customer support is the live chat is difficult to find on the web browser version of the exchange, but a quick search in the help centre and you can send them a message.

The Bybit NFT Marketplace

NFTs are the latest exciting prospect in the crypto world, and Bybit has jumped on the opportunity. They now have a Bybit NFT marketplace to buy and sell NFTs.

As it stands, the Bybit Marketplace only supports minting NFTs using the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. However, you can still list and trade Solana (SOL) blockchain NFTs, but only after they are initially minted elsewhere.

Buying and selling your favourite NFTs is a simple process, and the NFT Marketplace is easy to navigate and looks fantastic. Using Bybit for NFTs is a relatively seamless process and isn’t challenging, making it ideal for beginners looking to enter the NFT world – in amusing contrast with their other crypto offering, which is less suited to beginners.

If you’re looking to grab a bargain or have a little bit of fun, Bybit offers “Bybit NFT Mystery Boxes” for a fixed price. Each Mystery Box contains a random unique NFT that comes in four rarity levels.

Mystery Boxes:

  • Normal (N)
  • Rare (R)
  • Super Rare (SR)
  • Super Super Rare (SSR)

All mystery boxes can be opened or traded unopened on Bybit’s NFT Marketplace.

Under each NFT offering, you can see the transaction history of the NFT, including previous owners and the sale price, which is always good to see.

Overall, Bybit has done a brilliant job with their NFT Marketplace, so if you’re looking to start trading NFTs, Bybit could be a good place for you to start.

However, even though Bybit supports NFTs and does a brilliant job of making the NFT market readily available, we’d like to see more diverse offerings. At the moment, Bybit only supports image and video NFTs.

It’s also worth noting Bybit doesn’t support external NFTs, which was confirmed with Bybit’s live customer service.

Conclusions

Conclusion For Beginners

If you’re a crypto beginner, we think there are better options for you out there, like Bitvavo or Coinbase. If you do want to use Bybit, the Bybit app is your best option as it’s simple to use and can make trades with a few clicks.

The issues we’ve encountered aren’t trivial and stem from a lack of support in direct fiat funding and other beginner-friendly features.

Conclusion For Experienced Traders

Advanced traders will love Bybit. It provides many fantastic features such as long and short trading, derivatives, excellent leverage options, stop losses, staking, lending, and more. The advanced interface provides all the information you need and the support is fast and helpful, which matters a lot if you trade with significant amounts. In short, if you can handle the complexity that comes with an exchange geared towards advanced users, you’ll enjoy Bybit.