Bybit Georgia review: the local entity, lari routes and the card

Bybit is the global exchange that has gone furthest into Georgia. It has a local company on the National Bank’s register, a lari P2P market with TBC and Bank of Georgia sellers on every page, a Mastercard for residents, and it runs the crypto trading inside the TBC Bank app. Bybit Georgia is also easy to misread: the local entity, the global app and the European arm are different companies. This review separates them and flags what we could not confirm.

Is Bybit legal in Georgia? What the NBG register shows

Bybit is one of only two global exchange brands on the NBGNBGNational Bank of Georgia — the central bank. It supervises banks and, since 2023, crypto service providers (VASPs). register of virtual asset service providersVASPVirtual Asset Service Provider — a crypto exchange, ATM operator or custodian. In Georgia every VASP must be registered with the National Bank (NBG).. The other is WhiteBIT. The entry reads:

• Legal name: Bybit Georgia Limited LLC, identification code 402297331
• NBG registration: number 0019-9404, decree no. 434, registered on 24.10.2024
• Head office: Kostava street 14, Tbilisi
• Directors: Shawn Lomtadze and Zhou Yuchen
• Authorised services: exchanging lari or other fiat for crypto, crypto-to-crypto exchange, crypto transfers, safekeeping, running a trading platform, and ICOs

The register version dated 23.10.2026 lists 43 active VASPs. Binance, OKX, KuCoin, Bitget and CEX.IO are not among them. That matters because the NBG said on 7 October 2025 that anyone not registered by it is prohibited from providing virtual-asset services in Georgia. For the full list and what registration does and doesn’t promise, see our guide to licensed crypto exchanges in Georgia.

Bybit also says it received a Georgian payment service provider (PSP) licence in Q4 2025, which it describes as the basis for issuing its card locally. That claim comes from company releases and paid content. We did not find the entry on the NBG’s PSP register, so treat it as reported, not verified.

Bybit Georgia vs Bybit global: what is actually different

This is the question most people searching for Bybit in Georgia want answered, and the honest answer has a gap in it.

Bybit Georgia Limited is the Tbilisi company on the NBG register. It runs bybitgeorgia.ge, which went live in July 2025 as a localised site. At launch, it listed OTC trading among its services and said lari deposits and withdrawals were “in development”. It is also the entity behind the TBC partnership and the Georgian card.

Bybit global (bybit.com) is the app most people already have installed. Its registration flow blocks mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Singapore, Syria and the USA. Georgia isn’t on that list, so Georgians can sign up there. That list is taken from the website’s sign-up screen, not from the legal terms, and we could not read the full jurisdiction clause.

Bybit EU (bybit.eu) holds the MiCA authorisation from Austria and is passported to EEA countries. It is built for EU and EEA residents, not for people living in Georgia.

What we could not confirm is which entity a Georgian resident’s account is opened with when they sign up through the main app. It matters for one practical reason: the NBG supervises Bybit Georgia Limited. If your contract is with a foreign Bybit company, a complaint to the NBG about that company is unlikely to get far. Before you deposit serious money, open the terms you accepted and look for the name of the contracting party. If it says Bybit Georgia Limited, you are dealing with the registered local VASP.

Getting lari in and out: P2P, cards and bank rails

P2P with Georgian banks

Bybit added the lari to its P2PP2PPeer-to-peer: you buy crypto from another person and pay them directly (e.g. by TBC or Bank of Georgia transfer) while the platform holds their coins in escrow. market in August 2022. Bybit’s own configuration lists these GEL payment methods: Bank of Georgia, TBC Bank, Credo Bank and Liberty Bank, plus KoronaPay, SWIFT, cash in person, cash deposit to a bank, Revolut, Payeer, generic bank transfer, Western Union, Wise and CenterCredit Bank.

In a snapshot we took of the order book, there were 117 ads selling USDT for lari and 218 ads buying USDT for lari. That was the largest sell-side book of the exchanges we checked, ahead of Binance’s 138. Among the first 50 sell ads, 28 accepted TBC, 28 Bank of Georgia, 7 Liberty and 6 Credo. In the same snapshot, prices on Bybit, Binance and OKX sat at about 2.58–2.60 GEL per USDT.

P2P works through escrowEscrowThe platform locks the seller's coins until the seller confirms your payment arrived, so neither side can simply walk away with the money.: Bybit locks the seller’s USDT while the buyer sends lari from their own bank account, then releases the coins. We found no published Bybit fee for P2P trades in GEL; the real cost is how far an ad’s price sits from the NBG rate, which you can compare on our P2P trading guide.

Cards and direct GEL deposits

A third-party review lists GEL deposits on Bybit by bank card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and fiat balance. Bybit’s own Georgian rails page timed out every time we tried it, and the card purchase fee isn’t published on the pages we could read. So direct lari deposits are plausible, especially with the reported PSP licence, but we can’t confirm limits or fees. If a plain bank transfer of lari to and from an exchange matters most to you, WhiteBIT publishes its TBC and Hashbank limits; see the WhiteBIT review.

Fees you will actually pay

Bybit’s published spot fee for non-VIP users is 0.10% maker and takerMaker / taker feeMakers place orders that wait in the book; takers fill existing orders instantly. Takers usually pay slightly more. on all spot pairs. Bybit adds that rates “will vary based on your VIP level and your region”, so check the fee screen in your own account after verification. On a 1,000 USDT trade into BTC, 0.10% means a 1 USDT fee.

Crypto withdrawals to an outside wallet carry a network feeNetwork feeThe fee paid to the blockchain itself to process a transfer (also called gas). It goes to miners/validators, not to the exchange. that changes by coin and network, so check the figure on the withdrawal screen before you confirm.

The Bybit Card for Georgian residents

Bybit launched a card for Georgian residents on 28 January 2026. It runs on the Mastercard network and is issued with Pave Bank, one of Georgia’s NBG-licensed digital banks. Approved users get a virtual card first; a physical card is “subject to availability”. Google Pay is supported. In March 2026, Bybit held a launch event in Tbilisi with Mastercard, Pave Bank and Tether. Sponsored coverage says the Economy Minister and NBG representatives attended.

Two things were missing from every source we read: the card’s fee schedule and the currency purchases settle in. Bybit also launched it with a time-limited cashback promotion, which we leave aside because promotions change and the terms sit with Bybit. Bybit calls it “the largest crypto card in Georgia”; that is the company’s claim, not a figure we can check.

The card fits Georgian law neatly. Businesses in Georgia may not accept crypto as payment, but here the shop is paid through Mastercard like any other card while Bybit converts your crypto behind the scenes. For a comparison with Hash Bank’s Visa and other options, see our crypto cards in Georgia guide.

Crypto in the TBC app, powered by Bybit

In March 2026 Bybit said it was “in active discussions with a leading Georgian bank”, and its CEO Ben Zhou met Georgia’s Prime Minister. In May that bank turned out to be TBC. TBC customers can now trade crypto inside the mobile bank:

There is no separate registration: you use your existing TBC login and verification, and Bybit Georgia provides the liquidity and executes the trades. What TBC hadn’t published when we checked: fees after the launch phase, who holds the coins, and whether you can withdraw to your own wallet. TBC’s crypto page returned an error, so we can’t fill those gaps yet.

If you only want to put 100 lari into Bitcoin now and then, the TBC app is the shortest path. If you want withdrawals to a hardware wallet, P2P or more than 30 coins, you need a full exchange account. The crypto apps guide compares the two.

OTC and larger amounts

The launch of bybitgeorgia.ge listed OTCOTC deskOver-the-counter: a desk that trades directly with you at an agreed price instead of on an exchange order book. Used for large amounts and cash deals. trading for larger tickets. We found no published minimums or spreadsSpreadThe gap between the buy and sell price. A desk that buys USDT at 2.57 GEL and sells at 2.62 GEL earns a 0.05 GEL spread on each coin., so ask the desk for a written quote and compare it with a P2P merchant and a Tbilisi exchange office. Expect source-of-fundsSource of fundsDocuments showing where money came from (salary, sale of property, exchange statements). Georgian banks may ask for them on large crypto-related transfers. questions on larger sums: there is no official threshold, but one Tbilisi service cites 50,000 dollars. Our OTC crypto guide explains how cash desks price large trades.

On tax: for individuals, income from selling crypto is not treated as Georgian-source income, so personal income tax is 0% under the Ministry of Finance decision of 28 June 2019. There are caveats for traders and businesses; read crypto tax in Georgia before you cash out a large position.

Who Bybit suits in Georgia, and who should look elsewhere

Bybit fits you if:

• You bank with TBC or Bank of Georgia and want to sell USDT for lari quickly. The sell-side P2P book is the deepest we measured, and most ads take exactly those two banks.
• You want your exchange to be an NBG-registered VASP with an office at Kostava 14, but you also want the liquidity of a global platform.
• You’re a Georgian resident who wants to spend crypto in shops through a Mastercard without converting by hand.
• You’re an expat paid in USDT who also has Revolut or Wise: those are on Bybit’s GEL payment list, which few local services offer.

Look elsewhere if:

• You want a plain bank transfer of lari to and from an exchange with published limits. WhiteBIT lists TBC Bank and Hashbank rails; see the WhiteBIT review.
• You bank with Terabank, BasisBank or Hashbank and want P2P counterparties there. Binance lists more Georgian banks, although it is not on the NBG register; see Binance in Georgia.
• You’re a tourist and want a card to spend crypto. The Georgian Bybit Card is for residents.
• You just want to buy once with a card and hold. A card purchase on a global exchange may be simpler; the exchange comparison lays out the options.

What we could not verify

We’d rather tell you where the gaps are than fill them with guesses:

• Which Bybit entity a new Georgian account is contracted with.
• Bybit’s card deposit fee in lari, and whether Apple Pay works for Georgian cards (seen only in a third-party review).
• Bybit’s entry on the NBG’s payment service provider register.
• The Bybit Card’s fees and settlement currency.
• TBC in-app crypto pricing after the launch phase, custody and external withdrawals.
• OTC minimums and spreads, and Bybit’s KYC tier limits.

We’ll update this review when Bybit Georgia or TBC publish these details. Before trading, check the register entry yourself, and read our guide to crypto scams in Georgia before you trust anyone who messages you as “Bybit support”.