Bybit CEO Ben talks about memecoin, listing strategy, and why he insists on applying for a Hong Kong license?

Edit | GuShiio.com block chain
In December last year, Bybit held an online media conference in which CEO Ben Zhou and Shunyet Jan, head of institutional operations and derivatives, introduced the current development of Bybit and its outlook for the future. The following is part of the text sorted out by GuShiio.com, and some of the information lags behind.
What do you think of the difference between the hot and cold performances of VC coins and meme coins?
You can really feel that people are not friendly to this type of project & ldquo;VC currency & rdquo; and think that it is often a kind of & ldquo;Palm Dump” (that is, it is packaged with VC capital and quickly sold and cashed out). VC has gradually lost its value in the encryption industry, and even when it comes to the word & ldquo;VC”, many people will associate it with negative comments. This model is too traditional.
On the other hand, the phenomenon of meme coins is very interesting and can be discussed. We found that many meme projects are entirely community-driven, and even the project sponsors themselves-ldquo; has little money and limited funding and resources. For example, some project teams have almost no budget and no tokens of their own, but can quickly attract attention through community enthusiasm. They hand out tokens directly to users, regardless of profit, which makes us exchanges need & ldquo; upside down & rdquo; to support these projects. If the project is really hot enough, we may take the initiative to cooperate with them in the hope that they can meet our operational needs.
The so-called cooperation, specifically refers to: the project can promote their tokens online exchanges in their own community, such as doing some activities to attract users. The exchange’s demand is simple, which is to bring active users to their community. So, for some projects with limited resources, we may give money, resources to support these teams, or even help them & ldquo; budget & rdquo;, in order to achieve cooperation. This is an interesting situation, especially for meme projects that operate in a fully community-based manner, where our role may have changed from being in charge of the past to being a partner, or even a proactive buyer of traffic.
This trend reflects a shift in the industry: exchanges are no longer as high as they used to be, but are actively seeking cooperation from hot projects. This change is actually quite interesting, and it also makes the ecology of the whole industry more dynamic and challenging.
How does Bybit allocate assets?
From a financial point of view, our company has adopted a very cautious strategy for asset allocation. Specifically:
1. The allocation proportion of Bitcoin is low.
Although we are in the cryptocurrency industry, our holdings of bitcoin are not high. This is because most of our income is in stable currency, and the main trading products are positive contracts (USDT standard contracts), which also means that the settlement assets of users’ transactions are mainly stable currencies.
two。 The main assets are stable currency and legal currency.
About 80% of the company’s assets are stable currencies, and the rest are in the form of legal currency. The core goal of this allocation is to ensure the financial soundness of the exchange, not to pursue asset appreciation. In other words, the first task of the finance department is to ensure that the company can survive in the bull-bear market, rather than risk investing in certain assets.
3. Focus on operational requirements
The holding of stable currency and legal currency is mainly used for daily operating needs, such as paying employees’ salaries, supplier fees, delivery and so on. This sound financial strategy ensures our normal operation and the flexibility to respond to market changes.
Why do you insist on applying for a Hong Kong licence
We do not apply for a Hong Kong licence simply because of the scale of our business in the Hong Kong market. As a matter of fact, the trading volume in the Hong Kong market is relatively limited, for example, the volume of exchange business in OSL and HK is not large, so for us, the significance of Hong Kong licences is more strategic than direct market returns.
1. Enhance team confidence
As a Chinese team, holding a Hong Kong license can greatly enhance the confidence of the team. Compliance is an important addition, both in terms of talent recruitment and team stability. For example, for candidates from top companies, they will pay more attention to the company’s legitimacy and long-term development plans. Having a Hong Kong license plate can attract this kind of high-end talent more effectively.
In addition, team members can also proudly mention to their families that the company is a Hong Kong licensee in their daily life, such as returning home for the Spring Festival, which will undoubtedly help to boost team morale.
two。 Demonstrate compliance commitment
The Hong Kong licence plate is also a statement of our position on the compliance of the Chinese-speaking areas. As a Chinese, being able to operate with a license in Hong Kong is also a further confirmation of our market positioning and corporate responsibility. This is not only an external recognition, but also a support for the company’s vision, especially our long-term goal of taking root in this industry for 100 years.
Status of licences in Singapore
We are currently applying for the VASP (Virtual Asset Service provider) licence in Singapore, but the application progress is relatively late compared with other regions. This is mainly because Bybit did not focus on Singapore from the beginning, so it did not lay out at an early stage.
Recently, Singapore’s regulatory policy on the cryptocurrency market has been relaxed, especially after the FTX incident, the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) adjusted some of its regulatory requirements. As a result, we launched the application a year and a half ago and are currently in the interview stage.
Priority and global layout
Although the Hong Kong license plate is of great importance to team building and strategy, our current priority is the European license plate. The European market is at the core of our future growth, especially under the framework of MiCA (EU encrypted assets Market Regulation), compliance will directly affect the size and competitiveness of our business in the region.
Other observations
1. Progress of Hong Kong licences for major exchanges
At present, many big exchanges have not yet been licensed in Hong Kong, and regulators may first try to explore experience through some small brands, and then gradually open up to the head exchange.
two。 Internal talent training
In order to solve the high cost of talent and the scarcity of RO, we are making up for this deficiency through internal training and qualification.
3. long-range planning
Whether in Hong Kong or Singapore, the core of licence applications is not short-term market gains, but to lay the foundation for long-term compliance layout and attract higher-quality institutional customers and high-end talent.
Ben summarizes three reasons for the development of Bybit
Our company has always adhered to the steady strategy and highly focused on the products. Since entering the industry at the end of 2018, our role can be said to be & ldquo; runner-rdquo;. In this industry, it was Bitmex that started earlier, and then FTX, while we kept catching up until we gradually took the second place in recent years.
The core lies in the following points:
1. A sound strategy
We always pursue soundness in operation and product development, not rash forward. This allows us to remain resilient in the face of market changes while building a deeper foundation.
two。 Focus on the product
The emphasis on products runs through the company culture. Since its inception, we have focused on product development and optimization, focusing on user needs, and continuously improving the trading experience. My appearance and external statements also basically focus on products and brands, with little interference in other areas.
3. Industry role orientation
We prefer to think of ourselves as the ldquo; builder, the rdquo;, rather than the performer on the stage. Many exchange founders like to be in the industry & ldquo; performance & rdquo;, to attract attention; our choice is to focus on providing stable products and services so that users and partners become the real protagonists.
User preferences and Market characteristics in different regions
It is true that there are significant differences in Crypto concerns and needs among users in different regions, and this difference also affects our product strategy and operational layout:
1. Asian market
Asian users are usually familiar with the derivatives market, and they are used to using leverage in traditional finance. By contrast, Asian users are relatively more interested in GameFi and Meme coins, especially in South Korea and Chinese-speaking areas where there has been a significant increase in Meme currencies recently.
two。 European market
European users’ preferences are more conservative, focusing more on stability and low-leverage investment strategies. Interest in highly volatile assets such as GameFi and Meme currencies is not as high as that of Asian users.
3. The universality of market trends
Despite regional differences, when there are major trends in the market, the concerns of users in different regions tend to be the same. For example, when bitcoin prices soar, global markets focus on bitcoin and mainstream assets; when mainstream coins lack ldquo; story & rdquo;, money flows to small projects and emerging assets with & ldquo; hot spots & rdquo;.
The contribution of UTA and Institutional transaction Volume
In the unified trading account (UTA), institutional users account for a very significant proportion of trading volume, accounting for about 70% and 80% of the total trading volume. In terms of the number of transactions, institutional users account for only about 20%, while retail investors account for 80%. But from the perspective of trading volume, institutions are undoubtedly the absolute main force.
What, listing? Three core principles
The key Dimensions of Shanghai currency decision-making
Bybit’s currency decision is not imagined by the outside world & ldquo; killing decision & rdquo; or completely autonomous and controllable, but is affected by a variety of factors, including:
1. Market trend and Industry effect
The first choice for the project side is usually Binance. If Yuan an decides to launch a project, other exchanges will often choose to follow, because its influence is particularly significant in a bull market.
two。 User customer acquisition potential
One of the key points in our evaluation of the project is its popularity and whether it can bring in new users. This includes the regional attention of the project, the reasonableness of the valuation, and whether the market performance may be affected by too high or too low prices.
3. Collaboration with other exchanges
There is a tacit understanding with exchanges such as Upbit, and it is often found that online Upbit projects also perform well in Bybit. This rule allows us to give priority to the developments of other exchanges when choosing projects.
Specific currency procedures and rules
In addition, Ben Zhou said in another live broadcast on December 3 that Bybit will ask the project for some promotion budget to carry out promotion activities, but legal regulations do not allow any tokens. In addition, there will be a deposit of US $300,000 (stable coins) worth 20 million dashshareholders to assure Bybit that customers will get and promote it, which will be deducted if the target is not met. The currency listing process of Bybit includes: filling in forms, internal voting, research institute research, and currency review meeting. The main content of the review is to examine the fundamentals of the project and risk control, including: data on the chain, address authenticity, real use cases, user distribution, project value, token value, value capture, team situation and so on.
Flexibility and dynamic adjustment
Shanghai currency strategy is essentially a dynamic decision-making process, there are no fixed rules, but flexibly adjusted according to market hot spots and project specific conditions.
Token trend of stable currency and assets
Evolution and Challenge of stable currency
The current stable currency market is dominated by USDT and USDC, but other stable currencies with interest income are coming to the fore and trying to become new competitors. However, it is not clear who will be the leader on this track. We support a variety of stable currencies, but we are still watching to see who can stand out.
The direction of Token of assets
Asset Token is a two-way process:
1. Traditional assets enter the encrypted world
For example, the trend of using bonds or stable currencies as collateral on the chain for further trading and investment has begun to spread in the institutional sector.
two。 The Integration of encrypted assets and traditional Finance
For example, ETF (Exchange traded funds) extends from traditional futures to encrypted markets, and even further combines assets on the chain. Recently, SEC approved more bitcoin-related ETF, further driving this trend.
Although the Token of real estate and other physical assets has been mentioned, the most practical applications are still focused on stable currencies and financial instruments (such as bonds).