Bybit's Ben Zhou declares the "pure crypto exchange" extinct — evolution or just rebrand?

The standalone crypto exchange model is being retired in favor of multi-asset financial platforms, according to Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou. "The people who trade crypto also want stocks, gold, forex, indices, and derivatives," Zhou told Cointelegraph on Thursday. "They want to pay, save, and grow their wealth in the same place." His comments coincided with the launch of Bybit's "Make Your Move" campaign, which positions the exchange as a broader financial services provider rather than a venue limited to $BTC and $ETH trading.

Bybit already offers derivatives tied to stocks, gold and indexes, as well as forex. The products provide price exposure to the underlying assets without delivering ownership. Zhou framed the shift as industry-wide rather than company-specific. "The next generation of financial platforms won't be built around a single asset class," he said.

The repositioning arrives as several established crypto exchanges wind down operations. BitMEX ended trading on Wednesday after 11 years. CoinEx announced a wind-down this month, citing falling trading volumes and rising compliance costs. BitMart announced plans to close in July and is now exploring a restructuring that could allow some operations to resume.

Rival Coinbase is pursuing a similar expansion under its "Everything Exchange" strategy, layering stocks and prediction markets onto its existing crypto business. The converging moves among major venues suggest that survival in the sector now depends on offering instruments that extend beyond digital assets, with platforms that have not diversified facing shrinking addressable markets as user demand consolidates around full-service providers.