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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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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
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to The Block's Newsletters!
🚨 Breaking News
👨🔬 Expert Analysis
📈 Market Insights
Subscribe now 👉 https://www.theblock.co/newsletters
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hiring in crypto?
🧠 Find top talent fast with Campus, powered by The Block!
✅ Challenge candidates with our Crypto Assessment Test
⚡ Hire faster, build stronger teams
Start your free trial today 👉 https://theblock.co/campus
The Crypto Beat is a live streaming podcast focused on topical crypto news events. The podcast will feature multiple guests who are deep in the crypto industry sharing their views on the topic of the day. It will be available across X, Twitch and YouTube and made available afterwards on popular audio platforms.