Dubai, United Arab Emirates — October 13, 2026 — Bybit Co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou has outlined the latest stage of the company's expansion from a cryptocurrency exchange into what it brands "The New Financial Platform," unveiling new products and collaborations that span both traditional and digital markets.

The updates were presented during Bybit's biannual "Keynote with Ben," this edition titled "Make Your Move." Breaking from the usual studio format, the keynote was held in front of a live audience, bringing Zhou together with invited guests to discuss the convergence of financial markets, new technologies, and the products shaping Bybit's next phase. The full session is available on Bybit's official website:

Four Years of TradFi Expansion, With Stocks Now Live and mStocks Ahead

Four years after entering traditional finance through contracts for difference (CFDs) in 2022, Bybit has established itself as the largest crypto CFD platform, with trading volume reaching as much as $100 billion at its peak. On Oct. 12, the company pushed further into conventional markets by launching stock trading for eligible users, providing access to more than 1,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs. Users can trade using USDC, with fractional shares supported and 24/5 access covering U.S. pre-market, regular, and after-hours sessions. The launch takes the platform beyond derivative contracts that track prices and into equity access itself, with USDC serving as the funding rail between crypto balances and U.S. markets.

Bybit is also developing mStocks in collaboration with Mantle, with a targeted launch in November. The tokenized stock product is designed to be backed 1:1 by real stocks, with plans to support round-the-clock conversion between eligible stocks and mStocks on Bybit, as well as decentralized exchange trading through automated market maker (AMM) liquidity pools on Mantle. Converted mStocks are also expected to be transferable into Bybit's Unified Trading Account (UTA) for use as trading collateral, subject to applicable terms and conditions. Taken together, the stock service and mStocks outline a bridge between the two market types: tokenized shares designed for on-chain trading through Mantle's AMM pools, round-the-clock conversion, and reuse as collateral within Bybit's own trading accounts — functionality that goes beyond the price-tracking contracts of the CFD model Bybit started with in 2022.

In June, Bybit launched IPO Express, giving eligible users access to selected IPO opportunities at the offering price through tokenized representations of the underlying securities. The service debuted with SpaceX and is designed to extend Bybit's reach beyond secondary-market trading into selected primary-market opportunities.

The latest developments build on Bybit's earlier expansion into perpetuals, pre-market products, foreign exchange, and options. Its TradFi offering now spans more than 600 products across equities, ETFs, indices, commodities, and FX. TradFi perpetuals have recorded more than $180 billion in trading volume, while recent additions include Forex Perps and Perp Options — an industry-first options product built on TradFi perpetuals. The company continues to develop new perpetual products linked to AI computing and commodities, extending its range of instruments beyond conventional crypto markets.

Extending the Platform Into Payments

Beyond trading and investing, Bybit has expanded its payments infrastructure to help customers move funds with greater flexibility. Bybit Pay and Bybit Card support crypto and fiat transfers, merchant payments, and everyday spending. The services now connect users with more than 5,000 merchants across more than 15 countries and support transfers to bank accounts and e-wallets, alongside QR payments and other payment services. Bybit has issued more than 4 million Bybit Cards, extending the platform's use beyond financial markets into payments and spending — a layer that connects trading activity to everyday transactions.

Security and Regulatory Infrastructure

The expansion has been accompanied by investment in security, compliance, and technology infrastructure. In the first half of 2026, Bybit said it intercepted more than 30,000 suspicious withdrawal requests, protecting users from more than $700 million in potential losses.

During 2026, the company also secured five new licenses and regulatory approvals across the European Union, the Cayman Islands, Indonesia, South Africa, and El Salvador. According to Bybit, these regulatory developments support its efforts to expand its presence across different markets, subject to local requirements. For a platform now spanning equities, payments, and derivatives, these approvals form the regulatory foundation needed to introduce such products market by market.

The company launched Bybit AI in September as a conversational assistant spanning trading, account management, and customer support, with further development planned around the platform's wider financial services.

"Bybit is all about giving you the speed and scale you need when you Make Your Move. We have brought trading, investing, payments and AI together, and we are continuing to add more markets and more ways to use them. We built the platform. Now it is about giving people the financial freedom to make their own move," said Ben Zhou, Co-founder and CEO of Bybit.

Building Beyond the Exchange

Four years after entering TradFi, By now combines crypto markets with stocks and ETFs, derivatives, commodities, FX, selected pre-IPO access, payments, and AI-powered services. The company's focus is increasingly on bringing these capabilities together within a single platform while continuing to expand market access, product depth, and the infrastructure supporting them.

Bybit, which says it is trusted by more than 80 million users worldwide, frames the development of The New Financial Platform as the next stage of its growth beyond crypto and into a broader role across global financial markets. With mStocks targeted for a November launch and the new approvals still subject to local requirements, those milestones serve as the near-term markers for how far this expansion progresses from here.

Source: Metaverse Post, via Chainwire.