Malaysia Securities Commission accuses Bybit of operating without registration and orders it to suspend local operations

The Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) has taken enforcement action against Bybit and its CEO Ben Zhou, alleging that they operated a crypto asset trading platform without proper registration. The SC announced last Friday that it had ordered Bybit to suspend its website, mobile application or any other digital platform operations in Malaysia. Bybit was also ordered to stop all advertising activities targeting Malaysian investors and shut down its Telegram support group for Malaysians. It is reported that Bybit and Zhou have been included in the SC's investor warning list for the same regulatory violations since July 2021. The SC noted that Bybit has complied with the enforcement action as directed and reminded investors that those who trade cryptocurrencies on unregistered platforms are not protected by Malaysia's securities laws and face a higher risk of becoming victims of financial crimes. There are currently six crypto asset exchanges registered to operate in Malaysia. "We understand that this may cause some inconvenience, and we look forward to contacting you again in the future once we obtain the appropriate licenses," the company said in a post on the Bybit Malaysia Telegram channel. (The Block)