- Bybit CEO Ben Zhou says the exchange is deliberately avoiding a costly, years-long U.S. state-by-state licensing process, preferring to wait for federal regulatory clarity.
- Zhou argues Bybit holds a strategic advantage over competitors like Coinbase Global (COIN) because it has maintained a completely clean regulatory record in the United States.
- Bybit is monitoring the progress of the CLARITY Act and potential SEC oversight consolidation before committing to a formal U.S. market entry.
Bybit’s Calculated U.S. Absence: A Strategic Asset, Not a Weakness
While rivals such as Coinbase Global (COIN, $178.45) have spent years navigating the grueling U.S. state-by-state licensing gauntlet — a process that ultimately leads to coveted milestones like New York State’s BitLicense — Bybit has charted a deliberately different course. Rather than absorbing the time, cost, and regulatory exposure that come with that patchwork approach, the Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange has chosen to remain on the sidelines of the world’s largest economy, positioning its absence as a competitive advantage rather than a liability.
Zhou: Two-to-Three Year Licensing Timeline Makes Federal Path More Attractive
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has been candid about the calculus driving the exchange’s wait-and-see posture toward the United States. The state-by-state licensing process alone, Zhou noted, would consume two to three years of regulatory effort with no guarantee of a unified outcome. In his view, that timeline makes monitoring federal legislative developments a far more rational strategy.
“I might as well just wait for [the] Clarity [Act] to pass or have a better understanding of what the new law is. Maybe the SEC is going to take over, and then it’s going to be one regulator, one license, and everything is covered at the federal level,” Zhou said.
The logic is straightforward: if the CLARITY Act or a comparable federal framework consolidates crypto oversight under a single regulator — most likely the Securities and Exchange Commission — then the laborious work of acquiring dozens of individual state licenses would be rendered largely unnecessary. A unified federal license would offer Bybit full national market access in a single regulatory action, dramatically reducing both cost and timeline.
A Clean U.S. Record Gives Bybit Flexibility Competitors No Longer Have
Perhaps the most pointed element of Zhou’s argument is that Bybit’s non-presence in the United States has insulated it from the kind of regulatory scrutiny, enforcement actions, and reputational complications that have entangled other major exchanges. That unblemished record, he contends, is a tangible and deployable asset.
“Bybit is the only one that’s been sitting out of the U.S., and as a result we have a completely clear record there,” Zhou said. “So we can actually go in any time if the moment is right. I think I should use that good record to our advantage and wait for the best moment to enter, rather than rush to FOMO in.”
The reference to FOMO — fear of missing out — is telling. Zhou is explicitly framing impulsive U.S. market entry as a risk, not an opportunity. The concern is that rushing into the U.S. market before the regulatory environment is settled could expose Bybit to the same enforcement vulnerabilities and compliance costs that have weighed on competitors, potentially squandering the clean slate the exchange currently enjoys.
Why This Matters
The U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory landscape is at an inflection point. The prospect of federal-level legislation — whether through the CLARITY Act or related frameworks — could fundamentally reshape how exchanges access American consumers. For international exchanges that have historically been locked out of the U.S. market, a single federal licensing regime would lower the barrier to entry considerably. Bybit’s strategy is a direct bet on that outcome materializing. If federal clarity arrives as anticipated, exchanges that avoided the costly state-by-state process and maintained clean regulatory records could be positioned to enter the U.S. market faster and more cleanly than domestic incumbents burdened with years of compliance history. The broader industry implication is significant: regulatory patience, once seen as a disadvantage, may prove to be one of the most valuable strategic positions a global crypto exchange can hold heading into the next phase of U.S. market development.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why hasn’t Bybit entered the U.S. market yet?
- Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has explained that the U.S. state-by-state licensing process would take two to three years, making it more practical to wait for federal regulatory clarity — such as the potential passage of the CLARITY Act or a decision by the SEC to consolidate oversight under a single federal license.
- How does Bybit’s approach differ from Coinbase’s?
- Coinbase Global pursued U.S. market access by obtaining money transfer licenses across individual states, culminating in New York State’s BitLicense — an intensive multi-year process. Bybit has deliberately avoided this path, preserving what Zhou describes as a “completely clear record” in the U.S. that gives the exchange flexibility to enter on its own terms.
- What is the CLARITY Act and why does it matter to Bybit?
- The CLARITY Act refers to proposed U.S. federal legislation aimed at establishing a unified regulatory framework for digital assets. If passed, it could replace the fragmented state-by-state licensing system with a single federal license, making it far easier and faster for exchanges like Bybit to legally operate across the entire United States under one regulatory authority.
