Bybit will not support yuan trading but allows Chinese users with VPN

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said mainland Chinese users can use a virtual private network to trade crypto on the platform, but it will not support yuan trading anytime soon.

According to a report by South China Morning Post, co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou announced at a press conference on December 3 that the platform does not intend to accept China’s local currency. But Chinese citizens can access the platform to trade abroad or via VPN, he said.

“What the Chinese government dislikes most about crypto is that it can facilitate capital outflow. So we will not touch this red line,” Zhou said.

Since June this year, Bybit has allowed Chinese citizens to register on the platform with mainland Chinese identity documents, including national IDs and passports. However, Bybit still blocks Chinese IP addresses.

This move was made to attract the attention of Chinese citizens living abroad at that time. Zhou said people currently living in China can bypass the government’s crypto ban by connecting to a VPN and using an IP address from a different region.

However, Zhou noted that the crypto exchange has not seen many users coming from mainland China. At the media briefing, it was revealed that Bybit had 40 million new users join the platform this year, increasing the number of users to almost 60 million. This number is up almost 300% compared to last year’s total number of registered users of 20 million.

Zhou also stated that the company plans to re-apply for a Hong Kong license in the first quarter of next year. Bybit had previously applied for a Hong Kong license in January this year, but withdrew the application in May.

The Chinese government allowed Hong Kong to grow its crypto industry, but has maintained a ban on crypto trading in the mainland region since 2021. However, the ban did not prevent Chinese traders from engaging in crypto trading activities despite the ban.

According to data from Chainalytics, from July 2023 to June 2024, the Chinese cryptocurrency market carried out a crypto transaction volume of approximately $50 billion.