TronWeekly

Crypto World News

You are here: Home / Archives for Bybit

Bybit

Crypto Market Surges In Q1 2023: Binance, OKX, & Bybit Lead CEX Market Share

by

In a recent report by Cn.tokeninsight, the top three centralized exchanges (CEX) by market share in Q1 2023 were Binance, OKX, and Bybit. Binance maintained its position at the top with a 55% market share, although slightly lower than the 60% share it held in the previous quarter. OKX and Bybit followed with market shares of 12.8% and 9.47%, respectively, consistent with their rankings in the previous quarter.

image 96 1

Binance’s Strong Performance In Q1 Driven By Bitcoin’s Recovery

The Crypto market experienced a significant boost in Q1, with its market value soaring from $831.8 billion to $1.24 trillion, representing a nearly 50% increase. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, played a vital role in this surge, as its price rose from $16,000 at the start of the year to a peak of $30,000, a remarkable 100% increase. 

The rise in Bitcoin’s value acted as a catalyst for increased trading activity and market share fluctuations among exchanges. The total trading volume of the top 15 exchanges in Q1 reached an impressive $10.8 trillion, marking a 40% increase compared to the previous quarter.

The most active trading day occurred on March 14-15, when Bitcoin’s price skyrocketed from around $20,000 to over $25,000. While Binance continued to dominate the spot market with a market share exceeding 50%, OKX saw a slight improvement, increasing its share from 5% to 7% in March.

Gate, another prominent exchange, also witnessed an uptick in its market share, returning to 5% after a usual 3% share. However, the spot transaction volume of $2.4 trillion in Q1 showed a 16% increase compared to the previous quarter but fell short of the previous quarters’ performance.

image 96 2

Derivatives trading volume in Q1 2023 reached a staggering $7.794 trillion, nearly catching up with the levels observed in Q3 2022. It marked a substantial 30% increase compared to Q4. 

The recovery of Bitcoin prices, coupled with various significant events such as the Hong Kong concept and Arbitrum’s currency issuance, fueled the surge in derivatives trading activity.

Binance, OKX, and Bybit maintained their dominance in the derivatives market, accounting for 85% of the market share. Notably, the platform token BGB outperformed both Bitcoin and Ethereum, achieving a remarkable 120% increase. Other platform tokens, such as GT and OKB, also experienced significant growth, surpassing the 50% mark.

As the Crypto industry continues to evolve, these market share fluctuations and trading volume trends serve as valuable indicators of the industry’s overall performance and its leading players in the dynamic landscape of digital assets.

Related Reading | BinanceUS & Unstoppable Domains Forge New Digital Identity For Crypto Traders

Sui Token Twist: OKX, Bybit, & Kucoin Offer Subscription Mechanism Instead Of Airdrop

by

Three major cryptocurrency exchanges, OKX, Bybit, and Kucoin, made an exciting announcement earlier today. According to their official statements, they will soon be adding Sui Token to their list of supported cryptocurrencies. 

Instead of opting for an airdrop, these exchanges will implement a token launch subscription mechanism. The exchanges have already revealed the token sale details per the available information.

However, after some hours, it was revealed that in the sale event, a sum of 594 million tokens was made available for purchase. It included 450 million public offerings and 225 million OKX and Kucoin tokens each, priced at $0.1. 

Additionally, 144 million SUIs were whitelisted, with 25 million OKX and Kucoin tokens each, and 94 million Bybits were priced at $0.03. As a result of the sale, a total of $49.32 million was raised.

In September of last year, the Sui development team, Mysten Labs, completed $300 million in the financing, with FTX Ventures leading the investment, along with Coinbase, Jump, a16z, Binance, Circle, and others. 

FTX Ventures purchased 890 million SUI tokens during Mysten Labs’ B round of financing for $102 million at an average price of $0.114. However, Mysten Labs has now bought back the tokens for $96.3 million in cash.

At present, Sui’s website states that purchasing is restricted to non-American citizens, and regular users may only buy through a lottery system at an elevated cost. However, there is currently no news of Binance listing the product.

Details & Rules For SUI Token Subscription Mechanism

According to OKX’s latest blog post, on April 23, there will be a lottery to allocate tokens for the SUI sale on OKX Jumpstart. The sale includes 225 million SUI tokens priced at $0.1 each, with a limit of 10,000 SUI tokens per person. Payment is in OKB.

The price of OKB is used to calculate the exchange rate based on daily snapshots taken between April 15 and April 19 at 16:00 UTC.

The Sui Foundation is offering an extra sale exclusively for contributors to the Sui ecosystem who have been approved for a whitelist. Those who are approved can buy up to 1,500 SUI tokens from a pool of 25 million at a fixed price of $0.03 per token.

These tokens will be fully unlocked during the mainnet launch. Allowlisted users can also use OKB to purchase SUI during the event on OKX Jumpstart.

The distribution of SUI tokens, which have been rewarded, will occur in monthly installments over a period of 12 months. The unlocked tokens will be automatically deposited into the users’ funding accounts. 

To qualify for this, users need to pass the KYC2 verification process, and they cannot have multiple sub-accounts, as per the blog post.

Additionally, some countries and regions are not permitted to participate in this program. Furthermore, there is a maximum limit of 100 winning tickets (equivalent to 10,000 SUI) per user.

Related Reading | Altcoin Rally In Full Swing: Top 6 Cryptos To Keep An Eye On Now

Top Crypto Exchanges Allow Sanctioned Russian Banks To Use Their Platforms, Says Report

by

Two well-known cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide, Huobi and KuCoin, still provide services to users of sanctioned Russian banks, according to a report from February 24th. The report alleges that the exchanges failed to take steps to prevent blacklisted Russian banks, including Sberbank, from using their platforms. 

Although the exchanges do not accept funds from these banks, they still allow traders to transact with each other accounts with sanctioned institutions, representing a “direct violation of U.S. and European sanctions with a little bit of a loophole,” according to Inca CEO Adam Zarazinski.

Crypto Markets Vulnerable To Russian Sanctions Evasion

Despite crackdowns on Russian exchanges and mixing services by the U.S. Treasury, the report shows that there are still vulnerabilities in the system. While Treasury officials say they have seen little evidence that digital assets can be used to dodge sanctions at scale, policymakers like Sen. 

Elizabeth Warren has warned that crypto markets represent a significant vulnerability in the U.S. sanctions on Russia. Inca’s report highlights how certain exchanges still allow Russians to move their holdings in and out of the country using peer-to-peer platforms despite escalating sanctions.

The report also identifies potential vulnerabilities on two other major exchanges, most notably Binance, the world’s largest crypto trading platform. According to the report, Binance offers multiple methods for Russians to convert local currencies into crypto through exchange and a peer-to-peer market. 

Although the platform does not allow users to use Russian credit cards, debit cards, or accounts from sanctioned banks on its exchange, those deposits are accessible through its peer-to-peer market. 

Binance firmly denied the report’s claims, stating that the exchange actively filters all user communications to prevent any potential links with Russian entities. 

Meanwhile, the report suggests that ByBit enables the conversion of Russian rubles into crypto via its P2P market and fiat deposit. Additionally, it allows Russian citizens to use the exchange’s deposit, trading, and withdrawal limits despite officially curtailing operations in Russia due to sanctions.

Despite sanctions, Russian banks are still able to use these exchanges, exposing the limitations of U.S. efforts to isolate Russian institutions and oligarchs from the global financial system. 

This comes one year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To prevent illicit finance, policymakers are pushing for stricter regulation of cryptocurrency businesses, particularly to deter Russians seeking to evade sanctions.

Related Reading | Cryptocurrency Exchanges Will Continue To Fail: Kevin O’Leary

Binance Joins Other Crypto Firms In Aid For Turkish Earthquake Victims: Report

by

A catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on Monday, leaving behind a trail of destruction and debris. However, among others, the crypto sector has stepped up to offer them support, including Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange.

The quake, one of the strongest to hit the region in a century, claimed over 4,300 lives and injured thousands more. As the affected communities and governments struggled to cope with the aftermath, the cryptocurrency community also offered support.

Multiple exchanges, including leading crypto exchange, Bitfinex, Bybit, and BitMEX, have pledged to offer aid packages to help those affected by the earthquake. Gate.io has stated that it has started preparing aid packages and will deliver them in coordination with the authorities.

Binance, Bitfinex & Others Supporting Victims

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao took to Twitter to express his sadness and support for the victims, saying that the Binance team is working on a solution to help. 

In a tweet from Binance Turkey, the company expressed sympathy for the families of the deceased and hoped for a quick recovery for those who were injured.

According to Binance Turkey’s tweet translation:

May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake that took place in Kahramanmaraş and the surrounding provinces; Our condolences to their families and our nation, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured.

Bitfinex has committed to developing an aid package for earthquake victims, and Bybit has announced that aid is being sent to the impacted area. 

Meanwhile, BitMEX has pledged to give the proceeds from its current trading competition to the Red Crescent and urged others who are able to make a donation to do so.

Turkey led the MENA region as the largest cryptocurrency market and recorded the highest year-over-year growth in crypto transactions among all regions in 2022. 

It was ranked 12th globally in terms of crypto adoption, with a 10.5% YoY growth in crypto transaction volume, according to Chainanalysis’s 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index.

Related Reading | Ethereum-Focused Scaling Firm Teams Up With Chainlink

Bybit CEO Plans To Again Cut Off Staff Amid Bear Market

by

To reduce losses, businesses are forced to reevaluate their business plans in the bear market. Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou tweeted about intentions to cut staff as part of continuing organizational changes as the company refocuses its efforts on the worsening bear market. 

One of the biggest crypto exchanges, Bybit, announced job cuts in an internal memo on June 20th. Although the organization’s size had increased internationally, the internal letter claimed that total company growth had not kept pace.

The CEO at that time claimed that by eliminating redundant tasks and creating smaller, more agile teams, he was looking at how he might assist Bybit in becoming more effective.

However, the CEO, Ben Zhou, said in its Twitter thread on December 3rd that the anticipated downsizing would affect everyone. They are all disturbed by the fact that many of their beloved Bybuddies and some of their closest friends will be affected by this reorganization. 

He also assured that they would do their best to accommodate each person’s demands and make the transition as easy as they could for their affected employees.

For those remaining individuals who will continue Bybit’s vision and goal:

It’s important to ensure Bybit has the right structure and resources in place to navigate the market slowdown and is nimble enough to seize the many opportunities ahead. That way we can continue to deliver the crypto ark to the world with even more drive and passion.

The Hardest Time For Crypto Companies, Including Bybit 

Many crypto companies decreased their workforces in November, according to statistics from the tracking website layoffs.fyi, due to the current unfavorable conditions in the cryptocurrency market.

Kraken, the most significant Bitcoin exchange in the world, announced at the end of November that it is decreasing its worldwide staff by 1,100 workers, or 30%, to meet the market’s demands. 

Additionally, at the same time, the American cryptocurrency exchange Bitfront, which was supported by the Japanese social networking company Line Corp, shut down.

Moreover, six months after terminating dozens of workers, Bitso, the largest crypto brokerage in Mexico, had again laid off workers. According to former workers, the corporation laid off roughly 100 individuals in total between Mexico and Brazil, where there were 500–600 employees.

Although the employee could not provide an exact figure, there is a rumor going around the workplace that 25% of the workforce had been let go.

Related Reading | Bringing NFTCommunity together with FuzzyOcean multichain marketplace

Bybit Joins Bandwagon To Lay off Employees Amidst Harsh Market Conditions

by

Bybit, a global crypto exchange platform, has joined rivals in laying off employees to withstand the continued dip in crypto markets.

A spokesman for the exchange told The Block on Monday that affected employees will be given severance compensation and access to Bybit’s employee career support in their job move. They refused to say how many jobs would be lost or how many individuals are now employed by the exchange. According to its LinkedIn page, the exchange employs around 660 people.

Bybit is the latest cryptocurrency exchange to lay off employees. Coinbase, Gemini, BitMEX, and Crypto.com have all let off employees in recent weeks. According to The Block, at least 1,500 employees have lost their employment in the crypto field in the last two months.

Some of the other crypto firms that laid-off employees include Robinhood, Bitso, and BlockFi. The harsh market conditions have affected the lives of a lot of employees as they had to step down from their position on such short notice.

Bybit had exponential growth in 2020

According to an email from CEO Ben Zhou to colleagues reviewed by The Block, Bybit employed “a few hundred” people at the beginning of 2020 and has grown by 300 percent since then. The message’s authenticity was not confirmed by Bybit’s representative.

“Our organization size had grown exponentially but the overall business growth did not grow in the same way.” “During the latest staff review, internal efficiency is still the biggest problem that Bybit has now. This means our operational efficiency has gotten worse despite our growing size. It’s evident that we haven’t utilized our fast-growing resources properly.”

Zhou said in the email.

The exchange was formed in Singapore in 2018 and immediately rose to prominence in the derivatives market. According to The Block’s Data Dashboard, it is presently the second-largest crypto exchange in terms of futures trading.

Bybit decides to shut shop in South Korea

by

Similar to every other regulator across the globe, South Korean regulators decided to mandate the need for a license. Bybit, a prominent crypto exchange decided to steer away from the region just while the final date to apply for a license was looming.

The cryptocurrency industry witnessed massive growth over the last couple of years. The drastic change from its nascent to its current stage had left the whole world in awe. Financial regulators, however, feared that cryptocurrencies could hamper the existing dynamics of the monetary world. This further pushed regulators into heavily scrutinizing the crypto market and exchanges seemed to be highly impacted by this.

The regulatory environment in South Korea has been hazardous for the last couple of days. With new regulations in place, over 60 crypto platforms were urged to alert their customers of either a full or partial suspension on trading. Exchanges operating in South Korea were obligated to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit by 24 September.

With this deadline just days away, Bybit decided to discontinue a few of its services in the region. These services were deemed important for the exchange to survive in the country.

Bybit to halt two major services in South Korea

In a recent announcement, Bybit stated that it would discontinue two services including its support for the Korean language on all its platforms and the official Korean community on social media. Both these features would be shown suspended from 20 September 2021.

Almost every exchange believes that regulations are needed in the crypto-verse. Bybit went on to address the same and asserted the reason behind its latest decision. The exchange stated,

“Bybit believes that regulations are necessary for the democratization of cryptocurrency. Bybit accepts its responsibility as an exchange and an industry leader in actively cooperating with regulations implemented by various jurisdictions to promote financial inclusion and develop the overall crypto industry.”

Additionally, the exchange noted that all other services would function as usual. However, Bybit also affirmed that it supported no Korean won markets as the exchange had no trading pairs that entailed the Korean won.

With Korea’s big crypto takedown underway, only a few exchanges like Upbit, Coinone, Bithumb, and Korbit have reportedly been allowed to function as they have fully complied with the local regulations.

Huobi, Bybit called out by Spanish regulators for operating without license

by

Move over Binance, Huobi and Bybit are the latest crypto platforms to fall under the purview of regulators.

Regulators from across the globe seem to have their eyes on crypto exchanges. As the world advanced towards the crypto-verse, the demand for these digital assets witnessed impeccable growth. The presence of crypto exchanges was further highlighted. While the crypto market wasn’t entirely regulated, the surge in the interest in crypto has called for the involvement of governments.

The crypto sphere witnessed the whole Binance takedown over the last couple of weeks. Japan, UK, the Cayman Islands, and a few other regions showed the door to Binance. Now, Spanish regulators were eyeing two prominent crypto platforms as they were operating without a license.

Huobi, Bybit, and other crypto exchanges receive warnings

In a recent document, the National Securities Market Commission [CNMV] of Spain revealed that an array of crypto platforms were operating in the region without proper registration. The financial regulator issued a warning against 12 exchanges including Bybit, Huobi, DSDAQ, n2coin, and a few others.

The warning read,

“According to CNMV records, these institutions are not registered in the corresponding registry of this Commission and, therefore, are not authorised to provide investment services or other activities subject to the CNMV’s supervision.”

Binance was seen suffering the wrath of regulators and turns out Huobi, Bybit and all the other exchanges under the purview of the CNMV could be next in line.

Meanwhile, China had shut the doors of over 11 crypto and forex platforms. While Spain was just issuing a warning against exchanges, China went all out and closed several trading platforms. The country has been slowly trying to eliminate the presence of crypto in the region.

While trading platforms seemed to be the Chinese government’s latest interest, the country recently took down an array of Bitcoin mining firms.