Bybit CEO Predictions for 2026: Market, Trends, and the Future of the Industry
Date: 2025-12-12 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: BUSINESS
In a recent episode of The Crypto Beat podcast, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou discussed the company's development, the current industry environment, and the trends he believes will shape the crypto market landscape in 2026. He emphasized that the blockchain space remains one of the most attractive for tech startups due to its high profitability and a steady influx of entrepreneurs, despite the occasional mistakes of individual market participants.
According to Zhou, competition between exchanges necessitates the constant improvement of services. Bybit strives to create an ecosystem where users can access all the necessary functionality without resorting to third-party solutions. He noted that many investors still prefer traditional banking instruments out of habit, but crypto platforms are gradually catching up in terms of convenience and offerings.
Zhou cited the development of prediction markets as one of the notable trends. He stated that Bybit was in talks with Polymarket, but regulatory issues still hinder certainty regarding a potential partnership. Zhou believes that regulation will become key for innovative financial products in the coming years.
Speaking about the current market situation, Zhou emphasized the decline in liquidity. He suggested that this trend could persist until the spring of 2026, and that the coming months are unlikely to bring any significant developments. While exchanges are capable of operating even in bear markets, a prolonged downturn leads to a lack of new users and a further decline in turnover. He cited the period following the FTX collapse as a particularly difficult one, when activity on Bybit fell to critically low levels, forcing the company to downsize its staff and freeze initiatives.
A separate section of the interview was devoted to treasury-backed assets (DATs) and the RWA sector—real-world asset tokens. Zhou noted that interest in DATs has waned, partly due to the SEC's close scrutiny of their funding mechanisms. At the same time, he is confident that RWAs will be the main trend next year, especially for countries without developed capital markets. He sees particular potential in tokenized stocks, although existing solutions like xStocks still face challenges with transparency and compliance.
Zhou also expressed the opinion that the global stock market could eventually transition to an on-chain infrastructure. However, at this stage, this approach must coexist with off-chain mechanisms. As for Bybit, the company is considering listing tokenized stocks, but is facing low product liquidity and the need to rework its internal processes. Zhou thus expects 2026 to be a year of consolidation for solutions at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain, with RWAs coming to the forefront of the global crypto economy.
