Bybit is a top-3 derivatives exchange globally with excellent perpetual funding rates, strong copy-trading platform, and one of the deepest institutional liquidity pools outside Binance. The 2024 hot-wallet incident (fully recovered by Bybit) briefly shook trust but the exchange has continued to grow.
What Bybit actually is
Bybit operates spot markets, perpetual futures, options, copy trading, launchpool, and a full Web3 wallet + DEX aggregator. Founded 2018 and headquartered in Dubai/BVI, Bybit has grown into one of the top-3 derivatives venues by daily volume ($15-25B typical).
Fees
- Spot: 0.10% maker/taker (Regular), lower with volume
- Perp: 0.02% maker / 0.055% taker (Regular), lower with volume
- Funding: often more favorable to traders than Binance on major pairs
Where Bybit dominates
- Copy trading (arguably the best copy-trading platform in crypto)
- Perpetual futures with competitive funding
- Deep BTC/ETH orderbooks
- Fast withdrawals and clean UX for pro traders
The 2024 incident
In early 2024, Bybit's ETH cold wallet was drained of approximately $1.4B in a signing-key compromise. Bybit made all users whole immediately from its own reserves without disruption to withdrawals — one of the most complete emergency responses in exchange history. Post-incident, Bybit implemented additional signing controls and audit procedures.
The incident is a real data point. That Bybit made users whole without interrupting operations is a strong positive signal, though larger security infrastructure was clearly required.
Who should use Bybit
- Copy traders wanting the best-in-class platform
- Derivatives traders wanting deep perps liquidity
- Users outside the US wanting a Binance alternative
Verdict
Bybit is the top choice for derivatives and copy trading outside the US. The 2024 incident is a real caveat, but the response was exemplary. For serious perp traders in supported regions, Bybit is essential.