Bybit's derivatives leadership
Bybit started specifically with Bitcoin perpetual futures, before Binance even launched its own futures. 2020 brought dual-track USDT-margined + inverse-margined contracts, 2021 added spot, 2023 added options. Current product mix: (1) Spot (~25% of total volume); (2) Perpetuals (USDT / USDC / coin-margined, ~65%); (3) Delivery futures (~5%); (4) Options (~5%). Perpetuals depth and fee structure are Bybit's moat — on large BTC trades, Bybit's slippage tests better than Binance's in many 2024 third-party benchmarks. Leverage up to 100× (BTC/ETH), tiered 50× / 25× / 10× for other tokens. Bybit is particularly friendly to high-frequency and quant traders — solid API docs and top-tier WebSocket stability.
Blocked countries & regulatory path
Bybit's explicit blocks (as of early 2026): (1) US — SEC since 2024 has required unregistered derivatives platforms to ban US persons, and Bybit enforces strict geoblocking with US IPs hitting a block page; (2) UK — FCA banned unlicensed derivatives retail sales in October 2023, Bybit delisted futures for UK IPs (spot still works); (3) Canada Quebec — AMF issued a 2023 individual prohibition; other Canadian provinces can trade spot only; (4) Mainland China — withdrew after the 2021 PBoC ban, but technically VPN-reachable, KYC via passport works; (5) Japan — no FSA license, Japanese IPs see 'cannot register from this region'. Bybit's regulatory path: VARA license in Dubai, partial MAS approval in Singapore, MiCA application in Europe. More agile than Binance; Bybit has one of the fastest compliance expansions in the industry.
KYC & deposits
Bybit KYC has 2 tiers: (1) Level 1 — name + DOB + country + ID scan + selfie, unlocks derivatives + 1M USDT daily withdrawal; (2) Level 2 — address proof + source-of-funds, raises cap to 2M USDT + unlocks OTC trading. Accepted IDs: passport (global), national ID (by country allowlist), driver's license (select countries). Mainland Chinese ID cards haven't been accepted since 2023 — similar to Binance, Chinese users must use passport. Deposit methods: (1) crypto deposit (mainstream, fee-free); (2) C2C (supports Alipay / WeChat / bank transfer — deepest among Chinese-user-friendly exchanges); (3) credit card buy (VISA / Master, 3-5% fees); (4) third-party payment (MoonPay / Simplex); (5) SEPA EUR for European users. C2C is the best deposit path for Chinese / Russian / Middle East users — low fees, fast speed, wide payment choice.
Bybit vs Binance — a real comparison
For most users, Bybit vs Binance key differences: (1) Tokens — Binance 500+, Bybit 350+, Binance wider; (2) Futures depth — major BTC/ETH pairs are close, altcoins run deeper on Binance; (3) Spot fees — Binance 0.1%, Bybit 0.1% (BIT-holder discounts), even; (4) Futures fees — Bybit maker -0.025% / taker 0.075%, slightly better than Binance maker -0.02% / taker 0.075%; (5) Derivatives UI — Bybit's pro interface feels smoother, charts and order book respond faster; (6) Regulation — Binance carries US historical baggage ($4.3B penalty), Bybit relatively clean; (7) Country blocks — both block the US, but Binance offers binance.us as fallback, Bybit US users must walk away entirely. Mainland Chinese choice: both work, personal preference. Derivatives traders lean Bybit; spot + multi-token investors lean Binance.
AF3 probe structure — multi-endpoint fintech detection
AF3's Bybit probes cover 4 layers: (1) Primary (www.bybit.com HTML + no redirect to block page); (2) API gateway (api.bybit.com / api-testnet.bybit.com — spot + futures core); (3) Auth (www.bybit.com/user/login — login and 2FA); (4) CDN (static2.bybit.com / s1.bycsi.com — frontend assets and candlesticks). AF3's special probe: a US IP hitting Bybit gets 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons + an explicit block page 'This service is not available in your region'. AF3 recognizes this response as a 'hard block' signal. IP scoring: residential 30 / quality_vpn 25 / normal_vpn 20 / datacenter 15 — the same fintech 3-star matrix as Binance / Acorns. Bybit is slightly more VPN-forgiving than Binance — long-term DC IP logins don't immediately trigger risk control (they do on Binance).
VPN risk & compliance boundary
Bybit's Terms of Use prohibit 'restricted-region users' from accessing the service, and explicitly state 'using VPN to circumvent is a TOS violation'. Consequences: (1) account frozen — assets may be held for investigation; (2) withdrawal restrictions — forced KYC re-verification; (3) no liability for errors: Bybit futures liquidate fast, and if you're force-paused by risk control during a volatile window and get liquidated, the platform doesn't compensate. Practical advice for mainland Chinese / US / UK users: (1) don't use datacenter IPs long-term (gets flagged) — residential proxies or home VPN is better; (2) keep KYC IP country aligned with passport nationality (Chinese passport → CN/HK/TW/JP IPs, not US); (3) don't keep large assets on Bybit long-term — withdraw to hardware wallet regularly; (4) don't log into multiple Bybit accounts from the same IP (shared-IP triggers linked-account risk control). AF3 only detects reachability — compliance and account security are your own assessment.