DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, hosted its BIG Series – Bybit Institutional Gala in Abu Dhabi, bringing together senior Bybit executives, global regulators, banking partners, liquidity providers, and institutional clients to discuss the future of digital markets. The event underscored Bybit’s reinforced global strategy after securing a full Virtual Asset Platform Operator (VAPO) license from the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and a MiCAR license covering the European Economic Area (EEA), positioning the firm at the heart of regulated digital finance.
“With our regulatory foundation in the UAE and EEA, plus a unified liquidity engine built around transparency and resilience, Bybit is committed to powering the next phase of institutional digital finance,” said Ben Zhou, Co-founder and CEO of Bybit.
Institutional Confidence Driven by Retail Scale and Scalable Infrastructure
Ben opened the gala by framing the industry’s move toward an integrated, institution-ready market structure and highlighted Bybit’s distinctive retail ecosystem as a competitive advantage. In its first year, the Bybit Card issued over 1.8 million cards across 13 regions and expanded Pay and bank-integrated fiat rails, delivering retail scale that improves pricing and execution for institutional users.
He also noted accelerated growth in Bybit’s wealth and asset management arm, where assets under management rose from USD 40 million in Q2 to USD 200 million in Q4, signaling widening institutional engagement. Asset inflows increased from USD 1.3 billion in Q3 to USD 2.88 billion in Q4.
“Institutions are choosing Bybit because they want certainty — certainty of liquidity, certainty of compliance, and certainty of performance. With asset inflows rising from USD 1.3 billion in Q3 to USD 2.88 billion in Q4, our role has never been clearer: we are building the most trusted infrastructure for the next era of institutional digital finance,” added Ben.
Compliance as an Institutional Differentiator
Robert MacDonald, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Bybit, delivered a keynote stressing that compliance has become a central trust product for institutional adoption. He explained that predictable onboarding, compliance embedded into products, and proactive regulatory engagement now act as competitive advantages, strengthening banking relationships and reducing operational friction for professional investors.
Expanding Institutional Offerings for 2026
Yoyee Wang, Head of Business to Business at Bybit, unveiled institutional products planned for 2026 to boost connectivity and operational efficiency:
– INS Credit Suite: Upgraded to integrate Bybit Custody with tokenized RWA yield products, allowing institutions to retain custody, earn returns via money market funds, and access institutional credit simultaneously. The suite supports market-leading 5× leverage and up to 1,000 sub-accounts, improving capital efficiency while preserving control.
– Market Maker Gateway (MMGW): A dedicated, high-performance access point that reduces round-trip latency from 30ms to 2.5ms for high-frequency and quant clients, offering faster, more stable connectivity to Bybit’s trading environment.
Bybit reported INS loan notional grew 26% quarter-over-quarter, driven by adoption from multi-strategy and high-frequency trading firms.
“The momentum we’re seeing from institutions is driven by real utility—capital efficiency, liquidity depth, and operational reliability. Our role is to simplify access while working hand in hand with partners, banks, and regulators to build a more connected and scalable global market structure,” said Yoyee.
A Global Dialogue on Market Convergence
A cross-regional panel moderated by Dimitrios Psarrakis, Head of Global Affairs at Bybit, featured industry and banking figures including Jean-Marc Laventure, Head of Financial & Securities Services Sales, Investors, Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank. The discussion emphasized that traditional finance and digital assets are converging around shared priorities of transparency, efficiency, and institutional-grade governance.
Celebrating Partners and Market Leaders
The gala concluded with awards recognizing institutions and ecosystem contributors for performance and impact across global digital markets. Award recipients included:
Premier Corporate Trading Terminal Award
– Vantage
– Jarvis Lab
Broker Market Leadership Award
– Insilico Terminal
– Coinroutes
– Finestel
Outstanding Institutional Contribution Award
– Wintermute
– Amber Group
– Da Vinci
– GSR
– Cumberland
Liquidity Leadership Award
– Pulsar
– Atomic
– Gravity
– Hashwave
Institutional Trading Excellence Award
– CyantArb
– AlberBlanc
– Presto
– Rosario
“It is a privilege to receive this recognition from Bybit at such a pivotal moment for mainstream adoption of digital finance. The Gala reinforced the importance of trust, infrastructure, and long-term partnership. GSR looks forward to continuing our collaboration with Bybit as we build institutional-grade products and services for the crypto market together,” said Xin Song, CEO of GSR.
#Bybit / #CryptoArk
About Bybit
Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving a global community of over 70 million users. Founded in 2018, Bybit aims to create a simpler, open and equal ecosystem for participants in Web3. The company partners with leading blockchain protocols to provide infrastructure and on-chain innovation, offering secure custody, diverse marketplaces, an intuitive user experience, and advanced blockchain tools to bridge TradFi and DeFi.
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