Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has guided Bybit, the Dubai-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange and the world’s second-largest by trading volume, on its re-entry into the Indian market after months of regulatory hurdles, financial penalties, and a sweeping compliance overhaul.

The return marks the first major instance of an offshore crypto exchange successfully aligning with India’s toughened anti-money laundering framework—a move with implications for both global platforms and local industry players.

Bybit’s services were suspended in January 2025 when India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) blocked unregistered offshore crypto platforms. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) subsequently levied a penalty of INR 9.27 crore (around $1.06 million) against Bybit for violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Following months of regulatory negotiations, Bybit secured registration as a Virtual Digital Asset Service Provider (VDASP), clearing the path for its re-entry.

As of September 8, the exchange has fully restored its mobile app through Apple and Google stores for Indian users, with website access expected to follow shortly. The platform is rolling out its complete suite of services—including spot trading, derivatives, options, and copy trading—under tighter know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) protocols. Executives familiar with the process said this involved significant product realignment to Indian norms, as well as enhanced transaction reporting to regulators.

The restoration comes against the backdrop of India’s cautious but firm approach to digital assets. Since 2022, a 1 percent tax deducted at source (TDS) on crypto transactions has chilled market activity, even as India has consistently ranked at the top of global adoption indexes. Regulators have signalled further reforms, including alignment with the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) by 2027, which would standardise cross-border information sharing.

Industry executives say Bybit’s return will intensify competition with domestic exchanges such as CoinDCX and WazirX, which have faced both liquidity pressures and rising compliance costs.

For the broader market, the episode may encourage other offshore players to explore compliant pathways into India. Bybit, for its part, has amplified its re-entry with sponsorship of blockchain events and targeted campaigns to win back market share among India’s estimated 20 million crypto users.

The deal team that steered the effort was led by CAM partners Pallavi Singh Rao and Shatrajit Banerji, with support from senior associate Shrish Gautam, and associates Siddharth Kothari, and Mainak Mukherjee.

Partner Kunal Savani, principal associates Bipluv Jhingan and Shivam Garg, and consultant Samyak Navedia, assisted in tax related aspects of the transaction.