DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 9, 2025 — Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, hosted its BIG Series – Bybit Institutional Gala in Abu Dhabi, convening senior Bybit leaders with global regulators, banking partners, liquidity providers and institutional clients to outline plans for the coming year. The gathering highlighted Bybit’s strengthened global regulatory footing after securing a full Virtual Asset Platform Operator (VAPO) license from the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and a MiCAR authorization covering the European Economic Area, placing the firm at the center of regulated digital finance.
Ben Zhou, Co-founder and CEO of Bybit, framed the company’s direction around those regulatory milestones and a unified liquidity architecture. “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,” he said.
Retail Reach and Scalable Infrastructure Fuel Institutional Confidence
Zhou opened the event by describing the industry’s shift toward an integrated, institution-ready market structure and citing Bybit’s retail footprint as a competitive strength. In its inaugural year, the Bybit Card program issued more than 1.8 million cards across 13 regions, while expanded Pay and bank-integrated fiat rails have increased retail scale — improving pricing and execution for institutional counterparties.
He highlighted rapid growth in Bybit’s wealth and asset management business, where assets under management rose from USD 40 million in Q2 to USD 200 million in Q4, and overall asset inflows climbed 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,” Zhou added.
Compliance as a Differentiator for Institutions
Robert MacDonald, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Bybit, delivered a keynote underscoring compliance as a central trust product for institutional adoption. He argued that predictable onboarding, compliance baked into product design, and proactive engagement with regulators strengthen banking relationships and reduce operational friction for professional investors.
New Institutional Products for 2026
Yoyee Wang, Head of Business to Business at Bybit, unveiled institutional offerings planned for 2026 focused on connectivity, capital efficiency and operational resiliency:
– INS Credit Suite: Redesigned to combine Bybit Custody with tokenized RWA yield products so institutions can retain custody, earn returns via money market strategies, and access institutional credit. The suite supports market-leading 5× leverage and up to 1,000 sub-accounts, aiming to boost capital efficiency while preserving control.
– Market Maker Gateway (MMGW): A dedicated, high-performance access point that reduces round-trip latency from 30 ms to about 2.5 ms for high-frequency and quantitative clients, offering faster, more consistent 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.
Cross-Regional Dialogue on Market Convergence
A cross-regional panel moderated by Dimitrios Psarrakis, Head of Global Affairs at Bybit, brought together industry and banking figures, including Jean-Marc Laventure of Standard Chartered. Panelists discussed how traditional finance and digital assets are converging around shared priorities: transparency, efficiency and institutional-grade governance.
Awards and Recognition
The gala concluded with awards honoring institutions and ecosystem contributors for performance and impact across global digital markets. 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.
About Bybit
Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and serves a global community of more than 70 million users. Founded in 2018, Bybit’s mission is to create a simpler, more open and equitable Web3 ecosystem. The company partners with leading blockchain protocols to deliver infrastructure and on-chain innovation, providing secure custody, diverse marketplaces, intuitive user experiences and advanced tools that bridge TradFi and DeFi.
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