Recently, Bybit CEO Ben was interviewed by the media , talking about global regulatory issues, and also answered the public's question about how long the Telegram Mini App trend can last. According to CoinMarketCap data , Bybit remains in the top two to three in terms of spot and derivatives scale. We may be able to identify some industry trends seen from the perspective of large centralized exchanges from the interviews.
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ToggleThe U.S. market is too risky and not worth touching
When asked about regulatory issues, Ben first said that Bybit has never planned to enter the US market, and none of its 1,600 employees are green card holders. The reason is that he himself was educated in the United States, so he understands the regulatory situation in the United States. Once entangled in US regulation, it is difficult to escape, and as long as the exchange business becomes bigger, it will be easy to be noticed, so it has never planned to enter the US market. As a reference, Kraken, an exchange not as large as Coinbase and Binance, has also been regulated by the SEC. Sue, currently entering the litigation process.
He said that the same problem is easier to solve in other regions. Exchanges, whether in China or the United States, usually choose to hire locals in Europe, Southeast Asia and other places to be responsible for compliance affairs. However, as the U.S. market expands, it will be difficult to avoid political issues. He believes that the U.S. market is too risky and not worth touching.
Compliance is the only way to go, and Bybit admits that the European market is under heavy regulatory pressure
He then explained why many exchanges have moved their headquarters to Dubai, because the environment here truly welcomes the encryption industry, rather than preconceptions that the encryption industry is a crime. He said that whether it is Dubai or the United Arab Emirates, local governments realize that the oil industry cannot be sustainable, so they see the crypto industry as an opportunity. Taking Dubai as an example, they not only provide support, but also provide visa and other convenient measures, which is why they moved their headquarters to Dubai.
When the conversation changed, he mentioned the European market and said that the top three exchanges may withdraw from the European market this year, and smaller exchanges may take this opportunity to seize the market. Taking Germany as an example, Bybit has started KYC locally. This is the only way to comply with regulations, but it also means giving up some users. At this time, exchanges with relatively slow compliance progress have an advantage, especially in derivatives.
He said that Europe is one of the largest markets in the world and of course it is impossible to give up. However, regulatory pressure means that many exchanges that want to obtain MiCA can only castrate some functions, while small exchanges that do not plan to obtain a license can take advantage of this. However, Bybit will still aim to obtain the MiCA license, but he also admitted that the regulatory pressure in this area is huge.
After Hamster, the new mini app effect may disappear
Finally, he also mentioned the new attraction effect of the TON ecosystem. He said that he had noticed the TON ecosystem a long time ago, but it was only recently that they found a way to convert the huge user base, that is, gamification combined with tokens to attract users. But he also mentioned that the success of this model has attracted many people to follow suit, but the next team may need to make careful evaluations because most games are actually participated by the same group of users.
He said that among the TON tokens listed in the past six months, one has brought in millions of registrations, and half a million people have made deposits. However, it is expected that after Hamster (the latest TON game to launch tokens), the new user effect of Telegram Mini App will begin to decrease. Returning to the essence of games, the industry needs innovation, and just playing imitation games will not last long.
