From US stock trading and tokenised equities to payments and AI-powered tools, Bybit is expanding its ambitions beyond cryptocurrency as CEO Ben Zhou outlines the company’s next phase of growth.

The boundaries between traditional finance and digital assets are becoming increasingly fluid, and Bybit wants to position itself at the centre of that convergence. The cryptocurrency exchange is expanding its offering across stocks, derivatives, pre-IPO opportunities, payments and artificial intelligence, signalling a broader ambition to become what it calls The New Financial Platform.

The strategy was outlined by co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou during the latest edition of the company’s biannual Keynote with Ben, titled Make Your Move. The session brought together a live audience and selected guests to discuss the changing financial landscape, emerging technologies and the products shaping Bybit’s next chapter.

The announcement marks a significant evolution in the company’s positioning: from a platform primarily associated with crypto trading to a broader financial ecosystem seeking to connect digital assets with traditional markets and everyday financial services.

From Crypto Trading to Traditional Markets

Bybit’s expansion into traditional finance began in 2022 with contracts for difference (CFDs). According to the company, its crypto CFD business subsequently recorded trading volumes of up to $100 billion at its peak.

The latest step came on October 12, 2026, with the launch of stock trading for eligible users. The service provides access to more than 1,000 US stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with trades funded in USDC. It also supports fractional shares and trading access across US pre-market, regular and after-hours sessions, operating on a 24/5 basis.

The move gives Bybit users another route into traditional financial markets through the company’s existing platform, extending its product offering beyond cryptocurrencies and crypto-linked derivatives.

The Next Frontier: Tokenised Stocks and Pre-IPO Access

Bybit is also developing mStocks in collaboration with Mantle, with a targeted launch in November 2026. The proposed product is designed to be backed on a one-to-one basis by real stocks, with plans for conversion between eligible stocks and tokenised equivalents, subject to the applicable terms and conditions.

The planned offering is expected to include decentralised exchange trading through automated market-maker liquidity pools on Mantle. Bybit also intends to allow converted mStocks to be transferred into its Unified Trading Account for use as trading collateral, subject to eligibility and applicable conditions.

Another initiative is IPO Express, launched in June 2026. The service offers eligible users access to selected initial public offering opportunities at the offering price through tokenised representations of underlying securities. Its initial launch featured SpaceX, extending Bybit’s ambitions into selected primary-market opportunities rather than limiting its focus to secondary-market trading.

Together, these developments point towards a strategy that seeks to broaden the range of financial instruments available to users while connecting traditional market exposure with blockchain-based infrastructure.

An Expanding Derivatives Portfolio

Beyond stocks and pre-IPO opportunities, Bybit is continuing to develop its derivatives business. The company says its TradFi offering now encompasses more than 600 products across equities, ETFs, indices, commodities and foreign exchange.

Its TradFi perpetual contracts have recorded more than $180 billion in trading volume, according to the company. Recent additions include Forex Perps and Perp Options, the latter described by Bybit as an industry-first options product built on TradFi perpetuals.

The company is also developing additional perpetual products linked to artificial intelligence computing and commodities, extending its range of instruments into sectors that increasingly intersect with global investment themes.

While the breadth of these offerings signals a more diversified platform, the products carry different levels of complexity and risk. Access, eligibility and applicable restrictions vary by market and instrument.

Taking Finance Beyond the Trading Screen

Bybit’s ambitions extend beyond investing and trading. Its payments ecosystem, comprising Bybit Pay and Bybit Card, is designed to support transfers, merchant payments and everyday spending using crypto and fiat services.

According to the company, its payments infrastructure connects users with more than 5,000 merchants across over 15 countries. Its services include transfers to bank accounts and e-wallets, QR payments and other payment options. Bybit also reports that it has issued more than four million Bybit Cards.

The broader objective is to make the platform relevant to more than users actively trading financial markets, incorporating payments and spending into the same ecosystem.

If successfully integrated, these services could help connect asset management and everyday transactions within a single user experience. Their practical availability, however, depends on the markets and services accessible to individual customers.

Security, Regulation and Artificial Intelligence

As Bybit expands across financial products and jurisdictions, security and regulatory infrastructure remain important parts of its strategy.

The company reported intercepting more than 30,000 suspicious withdrawal requests during the first half of 2026, preventing potential losses exceeding $700 million. These figures are based on Bybit’s own reporting.

It also announced five new licences and regulatory approvals across the European Union, the Cayman Islands, Indonesia, South Africa and El Salvador during 2026, supporting its efforts to expand in different markets subject to local requirements.

Artificial intelligence is another component of the company’s development plans. In September 2026, Bybit launched Bybit AI, a conversational assistant designed to support users with trading, account management and customer service. The company intends to develop the tool further as part of its wider financial services offering.

These investments reflect the infrastructure challenges that accompany a move beyond cryptocurrency trading: serving different customer needs, navigating diverse regulatory environments and maintaining safeguards across an expanding product portfolio.

The Bigger Picture: A Financial Platform Beyond Crypto

“Bybit is all about giving you the speed and scale you need when you Make Your Move,” said Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit. He highlighted the company’s efforts to bring trading, investing, payments and AI together while continuing to add markets and services.

The strategic shift reflects a wider question facing digital-asset platforms: whether their future lies in specialising in cryptocurrency or becoming broader gateways to financial markets.

Bybit’s approach is to bring multiple capabilities under one roof, combining digital assets with stocks, ETFs, derivatives, commodities, foreign exchange, selected pre-IPO opportunities and payment services. AI-powered tools are intended to further connect these offerings.

Whether this broader proposition translates into sustained adoption will depend on factors including product accessibility, user trust, regulatory developments and the experience of managing multiple financial services through a single platform.

For now, the message from Bybit’s latest keynote is clear. The company is looking beyond its origins in crypto trading and building towards a more expansive role in the financial ecosystem.

Watch the full keynote: https://www.bybit.com/en/press/live/keynote-with-ben-h2-2026

Editor’s note: Product availability, regulatory permissions and eligibility may vary by jurisdiction. Tokenised securities and derivatives carry financial risks; the company’s statements and performance figures have not been independently verified for this article.