TL;DR. Bybit is one of two or three CEXs that remain a practical choice for buying Toncoin from Russia and the wider CIS in 2026. It accepts Russian passports, supports ruble P2P through SBP and major banks, has a deep TON/USDT spot book, and withdraws to the native TON network without EVM wrappers. Downsides: KYC is mandatory for anything useful, P2P spread widens to 1.5-2% during volatility, and occasional 24-72h limits on ruble rails have happened in 2024-2025. For everyday TON purchases the chain “P2P USDT/fiat → spot USDT→TON → withdraw to Tonkeeper” runs at 1-2% total cost in 30-60 minutes — meaningfully cheaper than non-custodial swaps or BestChange-style obmenniks.
Exchange overview
Bybit launched in 2018, headquartered in Dubai. By spot volume it’s a top-5 global CEX; by derivatives volume it’s consistently top three. For a Russian-speaking user three things matter: (1) the exchange does not block registrations from Russian passports or Russian IPs, (2) its P2P marketplace supports ruble payment methods including SBP, T-Bank (Tinkoff), Sber, Raiffeisen, Alfa, (3) it supports the native TON network — not just EVM-wrapped Toncoin on Ethereum or BSC.
This isn’t idealisation. Bybit has restricted ruble operations several times in 2024-2025 (typically 24-72 hours during external pressure), Russian-language support replies slowly, and P2P dispute outcomes favour sellers who read the rules more carefully than buyers do. But as functional infrastructure for buying TON from Russia and CIS, Bybit in 2026 remains one of the cheapest and fastest options available.
How to buy TON step-by-step
The base flow that works 95% of the time. From signup to TON in your personal wallet — 30 to 60 minutes including KYC.
Step 1. Registration and KYC. Open bybit.com (or use the cloaked link /go/?to=bybit), register an email, enable 2FA via Google Authenticator (not SMS — SIM-swap is still a live threat). Immediately pass Identity Verification Level 1: passport + selfie. Verification usually completes in 5-15 minutes; peak-hours up to an hour.
Step 2. Fund with fiat via P2P. Buy Crypto → P2P Trading → USDT/RUB (or your local pair), payment method SBP or T-Bank. Open an order with a verified seller (≥500 completed trades, rating ≥98%), transfer rubles with the note the seller specified (often just the order number). Confirm the transfer in the interface. USDT lands in your account in 5-30 minutes.
!In the bank transfer comment, never write “USDT”, “crypto”, “exchange”, or “P2P”. Use neutral phrasing or leave the field blank (if the seller doesn’t require a code). This is the first rule of P2P safety in Russia — Russian banks’ AML systems are trained on those keywords.
Step 3. Swap USDT for TON on spot. Trade → Spot → find pair TON/USDT. Use a limit order slightly below current price (not market) — saves 0.05-0.2% on spread. TON/USDT liquidity on Bybit is deep enough for purchases up to several tens of thousands of dollars without significant slippage.
Step 4. Withdraw TON to your wallet. Wallet → Withdraw → TON → Network: TON (not Ethereum, not BSC). Address from Tonkeeper or MyTonWallet (set up via /go/?to=tonkeeper or /go/?to=mytonwallet). Leave memo/comment empty unless your wallet requires it. Confirm via 2FA and email. TON arrives in 1-3 minutes typically.
P2P specifics
P2P on Bybit is an escrow trade between buyer and seller, where the exchange holds the crypto until fiat payment is confirmed. Buyer pays 0% fee, seller pays 0.2-0.3% (already baked into the offered price). USDT/RUB has ≥200 active offers at any hour; TON/RUB has 5-10x fewer.
Payment methods in 2026. Reliable: SBP, T-Bank (Tinkoff), Sberbank, Raiffeisen, Alfa, Gazprombank, Ozon Bank. Less reliable: Promsvyazbank, VTB. In some regions there are regional alternatives and YuMoney-style e-wallets.
P2P vs spot price. On calm days the P2P USDT/RUB rate lags spot by 0.5-1.5%. On panic days (sharp ruble move, sanctions news) — diverges to 3-5%. Buy when the news is quiet; don’t panic-buy if the rate looks expensive in the moment — markets usually settle within 6-12 hours.
Seller selection. Criteria: ≥500 completed trades, rating ≥98%, average release time ≤5 minutes, account age ≥1 year. Ignore new sellers even with attractive rates — disputes and delays are significantly more frequent there.
iA deeper breakdown of P2P risk from the banking side is its own topic. For a detailed walkthrough see our piece on buying TON via P2P on Bybit and OKX — it covers seller vetting, dispute scenarios, and AML triggers in practice.
Spot, futures, what else
Beyond basic TON purchases, Bybit has tools relevant if you’re trading actively or working with larger sizes:
Spot. Pairs TON/USDT, TON/USDC, TON/BTC. TON/USDT depth on Bybit is the deepest among Binance-alternatives. Maker/taker fees standard at 0.1%/0.1%, lowering to 0.02%/0.05% at VIP tiers (from $50K monthly volume).
Derivatives. Bybit is known for its USDT-perpetual futures. TONUSDT perp with leverage up to 25x. This is a short-term speculation tool, not for accumulating a position; for long-term holding, futures are unsuitable because of funding rates.
Earn products. Flexible Earn on TON (variable APR, typically 1-3% in 2024-2025), fixed-term deposits, dual investments. Returns are modest, counterparty risk (Bybit) is real — for serious amounts, hold TON in your own wallet, not on the exchange.
Bybit Web3 wallet. Built-in custodial wallet with TON network support. Convenient for quickly testing dApps, but for serious amounts use non-custodial — Tonkeeper or MyTonWallet.
Launchpool/Launchpad. TON-ecosystem tokens occasionally appear. New-project quality is at your own risk; the standard crypto warning “don’t invest more than you can afford to lose” applies in full force.
Fees and spread
Full breakdown of actual costs when buying TON on Bybit and withdrawing to a wallet:
- P2P fiat → USDT: 0% explicit fee, 0.5-1.5% spread vs market rate
- Spot TON/USDT: 0.1% taker, 0.1% maker (reducible by using limit orders and VIP volume tier)
- TON network withdrawal fee: fixed amount set by exchange — empirically 2024-2025 around 0.1 TON ($0.5-1)
- Wallet Convert feature: 0.3-1% spread — convenient but more expensive than spot
Realistic example. Buying $500 of TON: P2P USDT purchase (~$5 spread) → spot ($0.5 fee) → withdrawal ($0.5 network). Total $6-10 cost, or 1.2-2% of the amount. For amounts of $5000+ the fixed-cost portion drops, total cost is ~0.7%.
Compare with non-custodial swaps and obmenniks: typical 3-7% spread “all-in”, no KYC, but no escrow protection either. Bybit wins on cost for any non-trivial amount.
Security and risks
Exchange risk. Bybit suffered a major hack in February 2025 ($1.4B in ETH stolen via a cold wallet multisig exploit). The exchange covered everything from reserves and credit lines, operations did not stop, but the lesson is unambiguous: even top CEXs are not invulnerable. Standard rule — don’t keep TON on the exchange long-term. Buy, then withdraw to your own wallet.
KYC risk. When passing KYC, your passport data lands with Bybit and potentially their KYC providers (Jumio, Sumsub). Leaks happen — Bybit had a partial leak via a contractor in 2022. This isn’t a reason to skip KYC, but it is a reason to not reuse passwords and to not use the same email across all exchanges.
Regional compliance risk. Bybit is not formally under sanctions, but the regulatory climate around CEXs in CIS jurisdictions remains tense. No technical restrictions exist in 2026, but the political situation can change in weeks. Plan B: keep a minimal balance on the exchange for active operations only, store the main amount on your own wallet or diversify across Bybit/OKX/other.
P2P risk. The main risk is bank AML on the fiat leg. Full loss of funds via Bybit P2P is rare (escrow protects), but bank account freezes for 2-30 days are a real scenario in Russia and other CIS countries. Have backup cards ready, don’t push your entire salary through P2P in one go.
Comparison with competitors
Bybit vs OKX. OKX is slightly stricter on KYC, slightly better UI, slightly deeper TON book. Ruble P2P is comparable on both. OKX feels more “European”, Bybit more “Asian” in product style. For buying TON the cost difference is within 0.1-0.3%.
Bybit vs MEXC. MEXC is strong on altcoins and obscure listings (where no one else trades). Ruble P2P on MEXC is thinner, liquidity is shallower. For pure TON purchasing, Bybit is more practical.
Bybit vs Binance. Binance in 2024-2025 introduced strict restrictions for Russian users (ruble P2P effectively gone). If you have a Binance account from before 2023 you can use it as a “cold storage”, but new purchases are easier through Bybit.
Bybit vs Crypto Bot (Telegram). Crypto Bot is inside Telegram, no KYC, convenient for micro-amounts ($10-200). But the spread is 2-4%, there’s effectively no protection, and the bot’s funds are the same custody model with the same risk as a CEX. Bybit is cheaper on any amount above ~$300.
More: Bybit vs OKX vs MEXC for buying TON.
Who it fits
Fits:
- A CIS user who buys TON regularly (at least monthly) in $100-50,000 size
- Those willing to pass KYC and operate within the legal grey-area as cleanly as possible
- Those for whom price matters — Bybit is consistently 3-5% cheaper than non-custodial obmenniks
- Active traders — spread, liquidity and UI are above average for CEXs in this region
Doesn’t fit:
- Those who refuse KYC on principle — Bybit is nearly useless unverified
- Those moving very large sums (>$100K per trade) — OTC desks and legal counsel apply, not P2P
- Those who require full self-custody with zero CEX exposure — for them the path is “non-KYC swap → cold wallet” directly
Bottom line
Bybit in 2026 is a working, low-cost, technically adequate way to buy Toncoin from Russia and CIS. Not perfect (KYC, occasional ruble rails restrictions, background political risk), but one of the best on the combined factors. The chain “P2P USDT/fiat → spot TON/USDT → withdraw to Tonkeeper” runs in 30-60 minutes at 1-2% total cost — significantly better than most obmenniks and certainly better than direct individual P2P without escrow.
Open an account at the exchange: /go/?to=bybit. The rest is standard — KYC, P2P, spot, withdrawal to a wallet. If you want detailed step-by-step on specific stages, see our guides on buying TON via P2P on Bybit and OKX and the complete guide on how to buy Toncoin.
And just in case: the TON you bought should not live on the exchange, but on your own wallet. The best time to transfer is right after purchase. The best wallet choices are Tonkeeper or MyTonWallet.
