Pacifica vs Bybit

Pacifica or Bybit: which to use

Pacifica vs Bybit is a decentralized exchange against a centralized one. On Pacifica you trade from a self-custody wallet without ID, at 1.5 bp maker and 4 bp taker and up to 50x. Bybit requires verification for every product, holds your funds in an account, and charges 2 bp maker and 5.5 bp taker, with up to 150x. Bybit lists 857 perp markets to Pacifica's 77. Custody, ID and leverage decide it for most traders: Pacifica for a wallet without ID, Bybit for the widest market list and highest leverage.

How each exchange is built

Pacifica is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Solana. You trade from a self-custody wallet. It matches orders on a central limit order book.

Bybit is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It also matches orders on a central limit order book.

For the trader, the difference is custody. On Pacifica you trade from a self-custody wallet that holds your funds. On Bybit you deposit into an account and trade against that balance.

Fees and what they mean

Pacifica's base tier is 1.5 bp maker and 4 bp taker, per Pacifica's fee page. Bybit's base tier is 2 bp maker and 5.5 bp taker, per Bybit's fee page.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 8 bp per round trip on Pacifica, 11 bp on Bybit. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead, 1.5 bp on Pacifica and 2 bp on Bybit.

Fees are only part of a trade's cost. Slippage is the price you move by eating through the order book, and it grows with size. The cost table above adds the taker fee twice and the measured slippage at each size from $1k to $5M. You can compare every exchange's trading cost on one page.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Bybit lists 857 active perps, 237 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Pacifica lists 77, of which 24 are in the same real-world asset group.

Bybit allows up to 150x and Pacifica up to 50x on their highest-leverage markets; most markets allow less. Pacifica pays funding every hour on every market. Bybit pays every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. An hourly market settles 24 times a day, a 4-hour market six times and an 8-hour market three times. Check a market's interval before you hold it, because the funding you pay or receive accrues in more, smaller steps on an hourly schedule. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

Pacifica asks for no ID. It blocks the US, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines and sanctioned countries. Bybit requires standard verification for every product.

Tokens and points

Pacifica has no token yet, and as of 19 September 2026 its points and airdrop program was "Active". The exchange runs no vault that arb.sh tracks. You can follow points programs and token launches on one page.

Reading the numbers on this page

Both exchanges publish open interest as longs plus shorts, both sides of every position. The open interest row and chart above therefore count the two the same way, and you can compare them directly.

Bybit publishes no TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so the TVL row and chart show Pacifica alone, as DefiLlama's figure for the exchange. Volume, depth and funding are read live and change every minute, so use the Head to head table for today's values.

Which one fits you

• Pick Pacifica if you want to keep funds in your own wallet and trade without ID, from a country it does not block.
• Pick Pacifica if you trade with market orders: 4 bp taker against 5.5 bp.
• Pick Pacifica if you want every market on an hourly funding schedule.
• Pick Pacifica if you want to follow an active points program, as of 19 September 2026.
• Pick Bybit if you prefer an exchange account and accept identity verification.
• Pick Bybit if you need more than 50x, up to 150x, or a list of 857 perp markets with 237 real-world asset markets.