Is Bybit safe?

The short answer.

Safety

1.5/5 About US$1.5B stolen from a cold wallet in February 2025.

Regulation

2.5/5 No Australian registration covered; access is narrowing in some countries.

Worth knowing

• The February 2025 theft of about US$1.5 billion in ETH, one of the largest crypto thefts on record.
• Not available to US residents, and UK accounts are being restricted from October 2026.
• Fiat currency pairs cost more than crypto pairs.

Ratings are Nodora’s own, from published sources, and are not a guarantee. A good rating does not protect you from scams, lost passwords or a falling market.

Who can use Bybit

Bybit doesn't serve users in several excluded jurisdictions, including the United States. In the UK, Bybit stopped accepting new registrations and, from 21 October 2026, restricted UK-registered accounts to withdrawals and small-balance conversion.

Rules change quickly, so check Bybit's list of restricted countries for where you live before depositing.

The February 2025 hack

On about 21 February 2025, roughly US$1.5 billion in ETH was stolen from a Bybit Ethereum multisig cold wallet. The FBI attributed the theft to North Korea's 'TraderTraitor' hackers, also known as the Lazarus Group. Preliminary investigations reported by Bybit pointed to malicious code on the Safe{Wallet} platform used to sign transactions, rather than Bybit's own systems.

Bybit has since sued North Korea and the Lazarus Group in a US court and reports recovering or freezing part of the funds. Even a large exchange's cold wallet can be attacked through the tools around it, which is a good reason to keep long-term holdings in a wallet you control.

How to protect yourself on any exchange.

1. Turn on two-factor authentication

   Use an authenticator app instead of SMS where the exchange offers it.

2. Check the web address

   Fake login pages are the most common way accounts are emptied. Type the address yourself or use a bookmark. How to spot crypto scams ↗

3. Do not store everything on an exchange

   Coins you plan to hold for years are safer in a wallet you control. Wallet security guide ↗

4. Test withdrawals early

   Send a small amount out before you need to move a large one, so you know the limits, fees and delays.

How Bybit compares on safety.

Our safety and regulation ratings for all 13 exchanges, highest combined score first.

1. 1CoinbaseSafety 4 · Regulation 4.5 · Details4.25
2. 2CoinSpotSafety 4 · Regulation 4.5 · Details4.25
3. 3Crypto.comSafety 4 · Regulation 4 · Details4
4. 4CoinJarSafety 4 · Regulation 3.5 · Details3.75
5. 5Independent ReserveSafety 4 · Regulation 3.5 · Details3.75
6. 6SwyftxSafety 4 · Regulation 3.5 · Details3.75
7. 7BTC MarketsSafety 3.5 · Regulation 3.5 · Details3.5
8. 8KrakenSafety 4 · Regulation 3 · Details3.5
9. 9OKXSafety 3.5 · Regulation 2.5 · Details3
10. 10Digital SurgeSafety 2 · Regulation 3.5 · Details2.75
11. 11BinanceSafety 3 · Regulation 2 · Details2.5
12. 12KuCoinSafety 3 · Regulation 1.5 · Details2.25
13. 13BybitSafety 1.5 · Regulation 2.5 · Full review2

Common questions.

What happened in the Bybit hack?

In February 2025, about US$1.5 billion in ETH was stolen from a Bybit cold wallet. The FBI attributed it to North Korea, and investigations pointed to malicious code on the Safe{Wallet} signing platform.

Is Bybit available in the US or UK?

Bybit doesn't serve US residents. In the UK it stopped new registrations and restricted existing accounts from 21 October 2026, apart from withdrawals.

Next steps.

Visit Bybit ↗Official site