Bybit Institutional Sets the Stage for 2026 at High-Profile Abu Dhabi Gala

DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 8, 2025 /CNW/ -- Bybit, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, hosted its BIG Series – Bybit Institutional Gala in Abu Dhabi, bringing together key Bybit executives, global regulators, banking partners, liquidity providers, and institutional clients for a forward-looking dialogue on the evolution of digital markets. The evening set the stage for Bybit's strengthened global strategy following its newly secured full Virtual Asset Platform Operator (VAPO) license from the UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and its MiCAR license across the entire European Economic Area (EEA), -- a milestone that positions the company at the center 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 Powered by Retail Strength and Scalable Infrastructure

Opening the gala, Ben emphasized the industry's shift toward an integrated and institution-ready market structure. He reiterated a core advantage of Bybit was its uniquely powerful retail ecosystem.

In just its first year, the Bybit Card surpassed 1.8 million cards issued across 13 regions, complemented by expanding Pay and bank-integrated fiat rails. This retail scale increasingly fuels superior pricing and execution for institutional clients.

Ben also highlighted the acceleration of its wealth and asset management business, where AUM grew from USD 40 million in Q2 to USD 200 million in Q4, underscoring widening institutional engagement and strong 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," added Ben.

Compliance as the New Institutional Trust Product

In a keynote session from Robert MacDonald, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer of Bybit, reinforced the growing importance of compliance as a decisive factor in institutional adoption.

He highlighted how predictable onboarding, product-embedded compliance, and proactive regulatory engagement now function as a competitive advantage -- strengthening Bybit's banking relationships and reducing operational friction for professional investors.

Bybit's Expanding Institutional Ecosystem

In her keynote, Yoyee Wang, Head of Business to Business at Bybit, introduced the next wave of institutional offerings coming in 2026, aimed at strengthening market connectivity and operational efficiency for institutional clients. These include two major advancements:

• Bybit's upgraded INS Credit Suite now integrates Bybit Custody with RWA yield products, enabling institutions to keep assets in custody, earn returns through tokenized money market funds, and simultaneously access institutional credit. This unified structure enhances capital efficiency without compromising control. The suite continues to offer market-leading 5× leverage and support for up to 1,000 sub-accounts.
• The recent launch of Bybit's Market Maker Gateway (MMGW), a dedicated high-performance access point that gives institutional clients faster and more stable connectivity to Bybit's trading environment, reducing round-trip latency from 30ms to 2.5ms for high-frequency and quant clients.

Bybit also revealed that INS loan notional grew by 26% quarter-over-quarter, driven by strong adoption from multi-strategy and High-Frequency Trading (HFT) firms.

Yoyee highlighted the importance of collaboration in shaping the next phase of institutional adoption:

"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," stated Yoyee.

A Global Dialogue on the Future of Capital Markets

As part of the evening program, the gala convened a cross-regional dialogue moderated by Dimitrios Psarrakis, Head of Global Affairs at Bybit, and featuring European regulator, Jean-Marc Laventure, Head of Financial & Securities Services Sales, Investors, Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank and other honorable guests.

The conversation highlighted a clear industry shift: traditional finance and digital assets are no longer parallel tracks but converging systems built on shared principles of transparency, efficiency, and institutional-grade governance.

Celebrating Industry Achievement

This convergence provided a fitting transition to the evening's closing ceremony, where Bybit recognized leading institutions and ecosystem contributors for their excellence, performance, and impact across global digital markets.

The awards presented 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 is redefining openness in the decentralized world by creating a simpler, open and equal ecosystem for everyone. With a strong focus on Web3, Bybit partners strategically with leading blockchain protocols to provide robust infrastructure and drive on-chain innovation. Renowned for its secure custody, diverse marketplaces, intuitive user experience, and advanced blockchain tools, Bybit bridges the gap between TradFi and DeFi, empowering builders, creators, and enthusiasts to unlock the full potential of Web3. Discover the future of decentralized finance at Bybit.com.

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Tony Au, [email protected]