Is Bybit Legal in India in 2026? FIU Status and Tax

Yes — Bybit is legal and available in India again, operating as an FIU-IND–registered exchange. But the road there was rocky, and a lot of older articles still say "Bybit is banned in India" — which is out of date. Here's the accurate picture. (General information, not tax or legal advice.)

Is it legal? Yes — with a registration and a heavy tax

Crypto trading is legal in India — it's not legal tender, and there's no bespoke crypto licence, but exchanges must register with the FIU-IND (Financial Intelligence Unit) as a "reporting entity" under the PMLA anti-money-laundering rules. Bybit is now on that register. What you can't escape is the tax — covered below.

Is Bybit FIU registered? Yes — since February 2025

Yes. Bybit is registered with FIU-IND as a reporting entity under the PMLA. It registered in early February 2025, immediately after settling the ₹9.27 crore penalty it received for having operated without that registration. That registration is precisely what lets Bybit serve Indian users at all — an exchange missing from the FIU register can be blocked by MeitY, which is exactly what happened to Bybit in January 2025.

What FIU registration does not mean, and this is where a lot of coverage oversells it:

• It is not a licence and not an endorsement of the exchange by any Indian regulator.
• It gives you no protection or compensation if the exchange fails, is hacked, or freezes withdrawals.
• It does not make Bybit an Indian entity — it remains offshore, which is why the 1% TDS stays your problem (see below).

What it actually obliges Bybit to do is anti-money-laundering work: verify identity (KYC), keep records, and report suspicious transactions to FIU-IND. Useful as a signal that the exchange is willing to operate inside Indian rules — but it says nothing about whether it is solvent or well run. For that, see the Bybit review.

What happened in 2025 (the ban, and the return)

This is why the "banned" headlines exist — and why they're now stale:

• 12 Jan 2025 — Bybit paused most services for Indian users (leaving withdrawals), citing Indian regulatory action.
• 31 Jan 2025 — FIU-IND issued a ₹9.27 crore (~$1M) penalty for operating as a reporting entity without registration (Section 12(1) PMLA); India's MeitY also blocked Bybit's website.
• ~6–7 Feb 2025 — Bybit settled the fine and registered with FIU-IND, reactivating trading for verified users later in February.
• 8 Sep 2025 — Bybit announced a full resumption of crypto trading with website access restored.

So today Bybit onboards Indian residents (KYC via Aadhaar/PAN), with spot, perpetual futures, options and copy trading available, though some features may differ for Indian users — check on registration.

How crypto is taxed in India

The tax is the real cost of trading crypto in India, and it applies wherever you trade:

• 30% flat tax on gains from virtual digital assets (Section 115BBH), plus surcharge and 4% cess — no deductions except cost, and no loss set-off or carry-forward.
• 1% TDS on transfers (Section 194S) above the threshold (₹50,000/yr for specified persons, ₹10,000 otherwise).
• Budget 2026-27 kept this framework unchanged.

The offshore catch: domestic FIU-registered exchanges deduct the 1% TDS at source and issue statements; offshore exchanges like Bybit historically do not, leaving you to self-report and pay the TDS and 30% tax (Schedule VDA in your ITR).

Bybit vs Indian exchanges

Bybit is a large global venue with deep derivatives — but for smoother INR on/off-ramps and automatic 1% TDS handling, many Indians use FIU-registered domestic exchanges (CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, ZebPay, Mudrex, Giottus). The trade-off is Bybit's product depth vs. domestic tax-compliance convenience. Judge Bybit itself in the Bybit review.

New to the products? See Crypto futures, explained and Bybit fees.

Crypto is high-risk and heavily taxed in India. This is general information, not investment, tax or legal advice — verify the current rules and consult a qualified adviser.