​​​DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Bybit, on its 5th anniversary, has achieved several significant milestones, including surpassing 20 million users, launching its web3 vision, and gaining institutional preference for BTC and ETH. Despite the increasing number of crypto exchanges, there remains a scarcity of seasoned liquidity providers. In the post-FTX era, market leaders like Wintermute play an even more crucial role. 

Recently, Wintermute made a strategic move to Singapore, further solidifying its position as a giant in liquidity provision. Wintermute Asia also completed its first options block trade on CME, demonstrating its commitment to innovation and growth.

While the FTX crash continues to reverberate through the crypto industry, it serves as a turning point for established players to distinguish themselves and navigate the promising yet volatile market. Liquidity providers are the lifeblood of the crypto market's vibrancy, but their operations have often been shrouded in secrecy due to the unavailability of their off-exchange data. 

Now, we have the opportunity to gain  firsthand insights from Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, Eugene Cheung, Head of Institution at Bybit, and Yoann Turpin, co-founder of Wintermute, as they review the past year and discuss their forward-looking growth strategies.

Key Takeaways:

  • Ben Zhou believes professional options trading will flourish. 
  • Yoann Turpin, officially in Singapore now, brings his expertise as a former TradFi options trader and expresses optimism about the future of crypto options trading.
  • Eugene Cheung reveals that Bybit has initiated an OTC pilot program.

Aside from the recent price uptick, there is mounting evidence that the crypto market is experiencing a strong resurgence. According to CCData's December Exchange Review, spot trading volume on CEXs has risen for the second consecutive month, reaching $965.8 billion—a 52.8% increase and the highest spot trading volume since March 2023. The derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange also rose by 18.4% to $67.9 billion, marking the highest volume since November 2021.

Bybit and Wintermute started working together back in July 2021, coinciding with the launch of Bybit's spot trading platform. This partnership has successfully weathered the ups and downs of the crypto market, and the two companies now collaborate even more closely to navigate the testing and turbulent crypto landscape. 

For liquidity providers like Wintermute, mitigating risks associated with exchange failures is crucial. Yoann emphasizes that Wintermute highly values its collaboration with Bybit and prioritizes the quality of projects, tokens, and team reputations over sales and business development efforts by CEXs. Wintermute finds Bybit's "solid and stable back-end technology platform" impressive. Furthermore, Bybit's early adoption of a Unified Trading Account (UTA) for customers has been essential for global traders.

What to Expect in the Coming Year:

Eugene reveals that Bybit has launched a pilot program for OTC trading, a significant milestone that strengthens collaboration between the two companies and expands the horizons for the ecosystem in the long run. Bybit sees great potential in derivatives and options for OTC business, starting with OTC spot trading.

In his closing remarks, Ben emphasizes that while overall perpetual leverage is expected to decrease in the coming year, crypto options will gain more mainstream traction due to the increasing number of professional options traders entering the space. The options market has undergone a fundamental shift since the last bull run, major CEXs and the options ecosystem are poised for rapid growth. Bybit's recent expansion into the Earn Product space also heralds a new chapter after the turbulence experienced.

Last but not least, it is crucial to closely monitor regional developments and approaches towards crypto and digital assets. Regions like Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and the UAE warrant monitoring as cryptocurrency adoption depends increasingly on clearer guidance. Firms are pivoting to high-growth Asia amid arguments that localized regulations could boost demand. According to Cointelegraph Research's market maker geographic distribution database, Singapore currently leads the game, followed by the USA, Hong Kong, and the UK.