Era of pure crypto exchanges is ending, Bybit CEO says

Bybit said it is repositioning from a pure cryptocurrency exchange toward a broader financial services platform, unveiling a global campaign named "Make Your Move." CEO and co-founder Ben Zhou told Cointelegraph that traders who participate in crypto markets increasingly want access to other asset classes — including stocks, gold, forex and indices — and to handle payments, savings and wealth growth in one place.

The exchange already offers derivatives products linked to equities, precious metals and indexes as well as forex, which give users price exposure without transferring ownership of the underlying assets. Zhou described this multi-asset orientation as the direction for the next generation of financial platforms, arguing they will not be built around a single asset class.

Bybit's repositioning arrives as a number of well-known crypto exchanges reduce activity or wind down. BitMEX ceased trading after 11 years, CoinEx announced a wind-down this month citing lower volumes and higher compliance costs, and BitMart had planned a July closure but is now exploring a possible restructuring to resume some operations.

Competing platforms are also broadening their product sets: Coinbase has pursued an "Everything Exchange" strategy, adding stocks and prediction markets in addition to cryptocurrency offerings. Bybit's campaign signals the exchange is foregrounding multi-asset services as it seeks to compete in that expanding market space.