UK seeks Bybit expansion as government-linked bodies court crypto investment

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UK seeks Bybit crypto expansion

Highlights

Bybit leadership visited London this week at the invitation of UK government-linked officials, including the Financial Conduct Authority and House of Lords representatives, to discuss crypto expansion and regulation.
British policymakers aim to replicate the UAE’s clustering effect of attracting major crypto exchanges like Bybit and Binance, seeking to reverse capital flows currently favoring Dubai.
The UK is increasing its outreach as the UAE faces instability—including direct Iranian attacks after Feb. 28—potentially making London a more attractive base for crypto firms.

London meetings align with crypto policy push

As first reported by CoinDesk, Bybit leadership is in London this week after an invitation from economic development officials linked to the UK government, with meetings that include the Financial Conduct Authority and representatives of the House of Lords. Zhou says the message from British officials is that they are eager for large companies to establish local bases, create jobs and discuss forthcoming crypto-friendly regulation.

Bybit, founded in 2018, moved its headquarters to Dubai from Singapore in 2022. The exchange is ranked the second-largest crypto exchange by CoinGecko, behind Binance, which also established itself in the United Arab Emirates in 2025.

Zhou says UK officials are trying to understand what role crypto can play in a broader innovation agenda. The visit coincides with UK Fintech Week and with Treasury plans to revamp payment systems through stablecoins and wider tokenization.

UAE competition shapes the UK pitch

Zhou argues the UK has not yet built the same market momentum as the United Arab Emirates, where the arrival of large exchanges helped draw in smaller crypto firms. He says the presence of companies such as Bybit and Binance in Dubai encouraged other industry players to follow, creating a clustering effect the UK now wants to replicate.

He also says British policymakers are watching capital and company flows toward the United Arab Emirates and want to reverse that trend. Zhou did not name the specific UK department behind the invitation, but says the outreach came from an economic development body that offered a direct line to the prime minister and signaled a clear agenda to support innovation, especially in crypto.

The timing is notable because the United Arab Emirates is facing pressure after direct Iranian attacks during the U.S.-Israel war that began on Feb. 28. Zhou says that backdrop, along with reported departures of residents and tourists from the country, makes this an opportune moment for the UK to try to win back business activity.

Our earlier article on the UK’s payments framework overhaul explained that HM Treasury opened a consultation to unify regulation for traditional payments, tokenized deposits, and stablecoin-based payments under a single regime. We also noted plans for legislation to cut administrative burdens for stablecoin payment providers and a parallel review of how rules should apply when AI agents make transactions, all positioned as part of the UK’s wider digital assets push during Fintech Week.

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