- Bybit pays a $1M fine to resolve compliance issues with Indian FIU.
- The exchange anticipates receiving a full operational license shortly after registration.
Global leading cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has finally registered with the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) after paying a huge fine for failure to register with India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Bybit paid a fine of 9.27 crores INR, over $1 million, for failing to register with FIU-IND during its operations expansion in India.
According to the CEO of Bybit, Ben Zhou, who shared on X that it was a good development for the Indian users, this step came after the regulatory issues. Even though it is one of the leading crypto exchanges globally in terms of trading volume, the exchange closed its services in India way back in January 2025. The suspension was in place until it could resolve the violation of compliance. According to the exchange, users could access their funds but could not open any new trades.
Bybit Restarts Operations in India over Regulatory Issues
The fine was imposed since the exchange failed to follow the rules of Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism initiated back in 2023 in India. After imposing this penalty, authorities blocked Bybit’s websites and prohibited the exchange from operating in India as of January 2025. Nevertheless, the settlement of the penalty allowed the exchange to successfully register with the Indian FIU, taking it a step closer to full compliance.
By the end of the coming weeks, Bybit is finally going to receive the full operations license in India, thus putting an end to its troubles with compliance within the region. This registration forms an imperative step for the exchange, thereby enabling it to further continue with offering services in India compliant in line with local financial regulations.
It comes when the Indian government has already initiated stringent moves in further regulation of exchanges offering cryptocurrency, starting from requesting offshore platforms to register with FIU in case they were servicing users based out of India earlier. Such actions against exchanges such as Binance, KuCoin, and Kraken during the early stages of 2023 reflect strict moves from the authorities towards those that didn’t register and therefore ceased servicing Indians for some time before reinstatement through registering.
The Virtual Digital Asset Service Provider license has also been applied for by the company in July 2024, which is yet to be pending before the concerned authorities. With such registrations and a clear path ahead, next to consolidation in India comes this compliance under the regulatory framework followed within the country.
