Bybit Plants Its Flag in Jakarta: Exchange Giant Goes Live in Indonesia After Swallowing NOBI

Bybit, the world's second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is now officially live in Indonesia. The Dubai-based giant announced July 16 that it has launched Bybit Indonesia after acquiring a majority stake in PT Enkripsi Teknologi Handal — better known as NOBI, a homegrown Indonesian crypto platform — giving it a fully licensed local operation under the watch of Indonesia's financial regulator, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK).

What Happened

Rather than parachuting in from offshore, Bybit bought its way into compliance. The NOBI acquisition hands Bybit an entity that's already licensed and supervised by the OJK, and the exchange is keeping the local brains in the building: Bybit Indonesia will be run by Lawrence Samantha as CEO and Dionisius Evan as COO — both from NOBI's senior management — alongside CMO Steven Gotama.

The platform is rolling out in phases, starting with more than 500 trading pairs backed by what Bybit calls institutional-grade liquidity, market surveillance, and risk controls aligned with both local rules and its global standards. Existing NOBI users are being transitioned over to the new platform at bybit.id.

Why It Matters

Indonesia is one of the biggest crypto prizes in Asia — home to more than 21 million registered crypto users — and regulators there moved oversight of digital assets to the OJK, raising the bar for anyone who wants to operate legally. Bybit calling this a 'long-term strategic market' rather than a growth grab tells you how exchanges are thinking in 2026: buy a licensed local player, keep local leadership, and stay on the regulator's good side from day one.

"Indonesia represents a significant opportunity for the digital asset industry, but sustainable growth can only be achieved through regulatory alignment and responsible operations," said Ben Zhou, Bybit's co-founder and CEO.

What's Next

Bybit says future products will land progressively, in line with OJK requirements and disclosure rules, with education as the centerpiece — starting with a localized Bybit Learn hub. For an exchange serving over 80 million users globally, the regulatory-first playbook it runs in Jakarta could become the template for its next market entries across Southeast Asia.

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