While the U.S. is a big and hugely important market, it’s also highly competitive and very saturated, Zhou said, with the established stature of firms like Coinbase, and the growing importance of Robinhood.
So where in the world does Bybit think is good for growth?
Even Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa are all pretty competitive, Zhou said. One place where competition is not so concentrated and which remains a “pretty good market,” is the U.K., according to Zhou.
“The U.K. is looking towards a new regime for crypto, and none of the global exchanges are dominant there,” Zhou said. “The main player is probably Coinbase. So from a preliminary look, it seems like a very untapped market. But again, the cost to enter is very high and would almost take the same effort as a MiCA license in the EU. But we’re looking into it.”
Early this year, Zhou was invited to meet government-linked bodies including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and members of the House of Lords, the parliament’s upper chamber.
Asked if Bybit has a London office, Zhou said: “We’re looking, but we haven’t decided where yet.”
