Is Bybit Safe in 2026?
Bybit is one of the largest crypto exchanges — and it suffered the biggest exchange hack on record in early 2025. So is it safe? The honest answer needs nuance.
The 2025 hack — and the response
In February 2025, roughly $1.5B was stolen from Bybit via a compromised signing interface. Critically, Bybit fully reimbursed affected users within days — no customer lost funds. How an exchange responds to an incident matters as much as the incident itself.
Proof-of-reserves & custody
Bybit publishes proof-of-reserves that have been independently verified, and uses cold storage for the majority of assets. These are real, checkable safety signals.
Regulation & availability
Bybit operates under a Dubai (VARA) framework and is not available to US users, with restrictions in some other markets. It has lighter oversight than US/EU-licensed venues — a real trade-off to weigh.
Our take
See our full scored review for the exact security and regulation numbers. As always: for large, long-term holdings, a hardware wallet is safer than leaving funds on any exchange.