Bybit CEO Ben Zhou on perps, RWAs, and what's next for 2026

In episode 52 of the Crypto Beat, Kelvin Sparks and Tim Copeland were joined by Bybit CEO Ben Zhou to discuss how he bootstrapped a derivatives-focused exchange and grew Bybit into a one-stop crypto platform. Ben also reflects on managing a $1B hack with radical transparency, surviving brutal bear markets, and why he thinks RWAs and on-chain capital markets will be a defining theme going into 2026.

OUTLINE
00:00 – Introduction
02:05 – Derivatives-First Bybit
05:09 – Cards & User Acquisition
08:21 – Prediction Markets & Competition
11:33 – CEX vs On-Chain Perps
13:44 – Mantle, BitDAO & L2 Strategy
18:28 – Market Outlook & Liquidity
21:40 – Hiring, Culture & Layoffs
28:14 – Bootstrapping & Product Focus
30:41 – $1B Hack & Hard Lessons
36:46 – RWAs, Tokenized Stocks & 2026

Guest links:
Ben Zhou – ⁠https://x.com/benbybit⁠
Bybit – ⁠https://x.com/Bybit_Official⁠

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