Bybit creates $100 million fund to help clients facing liquidity issues
Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading platform Bybit is setting up a $100 million fund to help restore confidence in the industry and support institutional investors within its ecosystem.
As the collapse of FTX sent shockwaves through the crypto space, market makers and high-frequency trading (HFT) institutions are eligible to access up to $10 million in credit facility. The offer is available to both existing and new clients on Bybit, as well as dedicated account managers at other exchanges. The usage of money, though, is limited to spot and USDT perpetual trading on Bybit
“We are all in this together, and it’s up to everyone to do what they can to support our industry and this is one way we are helping to give back,” Bybit CEO and co-founder Ben Zhou said in the statement.
He added the initiative aims to protect the strong industry players who might just be hurt short term. Bybit joins the ranks of rival Binance which plans to pour as much as $1 billion into a recovery fund aimed at buying up distressed crypto assets.
The move also comes a week after Bybit has publicly provided its proof of reserves. The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, has triggered withdrawal suspensions across associated platforms and beyond. To assure investors, major cryptocurrency exchanges have been publishing evidence of the reserves they hold.
Binance was the first major platform to release its cold wallet reserves, then other exchanges followed suit, including Bitfinex, OKX and Kucoin.
Bybit sparked controversy two weeks ago after it said it will continue to serve Russian users, breaking ranks with mainstream finance and global regulators that attempt to isolate Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.
Despite orders issued this week by Singapore’s central bank that require licensed crypto platforms to comply with sanctions, Bybit said it is headquartered and registered in Dubai. As such, the exchange continues, it doesn’t discriminate against crypto users based on their location and passport.
A Bybit representative was quoted as saying that its staff is working hard to guarantee that all users have access to its platform equally and that “their funds are secure as well as the greatest trading experience.”
Some crypto exchanges argued that cutting off all Russians, including those not targeted by sanctions, would run counter to the cryptocurrency’s ethos of offering access to payments free of government oversight.
