Bybit Review 2026: Derivatives Leader, February 2025 $1.5B ETH Hack Aftermath

The short answer

Bybit is one of the top-3 crypto derivatives exchanges globally and my recommendation for non-US derivatives traders in 2026. It has competitive perpetual futures fees (0.02% maker / 0.055% taker), deep options market on major pairs, and one of the cleanest advanced-trading UIs in the industry.

The February 2025 $1.5 billion ETH hack is a real event that needs to be understood, not glossed over. Bybit covered the loss from company reserves, maintained withdrawals throughout, and no customer lost money. But it revealed vulnerabilities in cold-wallet signing procedures. Post-incident, Bybit engaged external auditors and enhanced security procedures.

Score: 8.2 / 10 for non-US derivatives traders. Not available to US retail.

Fee schedule

Spot:

• Regular: 0.10% maker / 0.10% taker
• Volume tiers reduce this to 0.005%/0.02% at VIP 5+
• Deposits: free
• Withdrawals: standard network fees pass-through

Derivatives (perpetual + quarterly futures):

• Regular: 0.02% maker / 0.055% taker
• VIP 5+: 0.0%/0.03%
• Funding rates: standard perpetual funding, paid every 8 hours

Options (BTC, ETH, SOL):

• 0.02% of underlying, capped at 10% of premium

Verify current rates at bybit.com/en/help-center/article/Trading-Fee-Structure.

The February 2025 hack — full response

On February 21, 2025, Bybit disclosed a security incident during a routine cold-wallet transfer that resulted in ~$1.5 billion in ETH being redirected to attacker-controlled addresses.

Attribution: The FBI, Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic all attributed the attack to Lazarus Group — a North Korea state-sponsored threat actor with a history of crypto exchange attacks (2018 Coincheck, 2022 Ronin Bridge, others).

Response:

• Day 1-2: Bybit publicly disclosed the incident. CEO Ben Zhou held live AMA sessions confirming user funds were safe.
• Day 1-7: Bybit covered the loss from company reserves and third-party bridge financing. User withdrawals continued at full capacity throughout.
• Ongoing: Bybit works with blockchain-analytics firms (Chainalysis, Elliptic, TRM Labs) to track stolen ETH; some portions have been frozen at receiving exchanges.
• Post-incident: External security audits engaged; cold-wallet signing procedures overhauled.

What this means for users: No customer lost money from the hack. That's the most important operational fact. But it revealed that a supposedly-cold-wallet approval flow was exploitable — a structural concern for institutional and high-value users.

For non-US traders continuing to use Bybit:

• Verify Proof of Reserves publications
• Move long-term holdings to a hardware wallet (this is true for every exchange)
• Consider position size limits on centralized custody generally

Product depth

Bybit is one of the strongest product suites in crypto:

• Spot — 400+ cryptocurrencies
• Perpetual futures — up to 100× leverage on major pairs (high risk)
• Quarterly futures — expiring contracts
• Options — BTC, ETH, SOL, on European-style settlement
• Copy Trading — replicate designated master traders' positions
• Bots — grid, DCA, arbitrage bots for both spot and derivatives
• Launchpad — new-token distributions
• Earn — flexible + locked savings; auto-invest DCA
• Bybit Card — Visa debit card in eligible regions
• NFT marketplace — smaller than Magic Eden or OpenSea but present

Where Bybit sits in 2026

Strengths: derivatives depth and UX, competitive fees, fast execution engine, product breadth.

Weaknesses: February 2025 hack aftermath, US restrictions, regulatory patchwork across jurisdictions.

Not for: US retail (blocked), absolute beginners (UI is advanced), Bitcoin-only long-term holders (use hardware wallet directly).

Well-suited for: experienced traders in eligible jurisdictions, derivatives-heavy users, active swing/day traders.

Related on CoinsCipher

• Binance review — the other major non-US option
• OKX review — advanced-trader alternative
• Kraken review — US-available with futures
• Best hardware wallets 2026