ABU DHABI / DUBAI, Dec. 9, 2025 — Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, convened its BIG Series — Bybit Institutional Gala in Abu Dhabi, bringing together company leaders, global regulators, banking partners, liquidity providers and institutional clients to discuss the next phase of regulated digital markets.
The event came after Bybit secured 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), milestones the company said position it at the center of institutional 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.
Retail Scale, Institutional Confidence
Zhou opened the gala by stressing the market’s shift toward an integrated, institution-ready model and highlighting the advantage of Bybit’s retail ecosystem. He noted the Bybit Card issued over 1.8 million cards across 13 regions in its first year and pointed to expanding Pay and bank-integrated fiat rails that boost pricing and execution quality for institutional clients.
He also flagged rapid growth in Bybit’s wealth and asset management arm, with assets under management rising from USD 40 million in Q2 to USD 200 million in Q4, a sign of growing institutional demand for qualified asset management services.
“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 said.
Compliance as a Differentiator
Robert MacDonald, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Bybit, delivered a keynote highlighting compliance as a core product for institutional adoption. He emphasized predictable onboarding, product-embedded compliance and proactive regulatory engagement as key to strengthening banking relationships and reducing operational friction for professional investors.
Institutional Product Roadmap for 2026
Yoyee Wang, Head of Business-to-Business at Bybit, outlined institutional offerings planned for 2026 aimed at improving market connectivity and operational efficiency:
– INS Credit Suite: A product that links Bybit Custody with RWA yield opportunities, enabling institutions to keep assets in custody, earn yield via tokenized money market funds, and access institutional credit. The suite supports up to 5× leverage and as many as 1,000 sub-accounts to enhance capital efficiency while preserving custody control.
– Market Maker Gateway (MMGW): A low-latency access point designed to deliver faster, more stable connectivity to Bybit’s trading environment, reducing round-trip latency from roughly 30ms to approximately 2.5ms for high-frequency and quant clients.
Bybit reported INS loan notional grew 26% quarter-over-quarter, driven by uptake 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,” Yoyee Wang said.
Cross-Regional Dialogue
A cross-regional panel moderated by Dimitrios Psarrakis, Head of Global Affairs at Bybit, included European regulatory representatives and banking participants such as Jean‑Marc Laventure, Head of Financial & Securities Services Sales, Investors, Middle East at Standard Chartered. The discussion focused on the convergence of traditional finance and digital assets and the common need for transparency, efficiency and institutional-grade governance.
Awards and Recognition
The gala concluded with awards honoring institutions and ecosystem contributors for impact and excellence across 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 serves a global community of over 70 million users. Founded in 2018, the company aims to create an open and equal ecosystem, partnering with blockchain protocols to provide infrastructure and drive on-chain innovation. Bybit emphasizes secure custody, multiple marketplaces, an intuitive user experience and tools to bridge TradFi and DeFi. Discover more at Bybit.com.
Media Contact
For media inquiries: [email protected]
For updates, follow Bybit’s communities and social channels.