
The Crypto Beat 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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