Bybit CEO Ben Zhou Says Tokenization Could Transform Finance Faster Than Expected

Tokenization is moving from crypto conferences to mainstream financial discussions.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific FinTech Conference 2026, Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou argued that tokenized assets, stablecoins, and AI-driven financial systems are accelerating the convergence between traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure.

According to Zhou, the next generation of financial markets will operate on tokenized rails that enable assets to move across borders, settle around the clock, and interact more efficiently with global capital markets.

"The current financial system is still constrained by geography, operating hours, intermediaries, and settlement delays," Zhou said. "Tokenization allows financial assets to move within a more connected and efficient global network."

The Industry Is Moving Beyond Trading

For much of crypto's history, exchanges competed primarily on trading products, liquidity, and execution speed. That landscape is changing.

Zhou believes the industry is entering a new phase where the winners will be determined less by trading volume and more by the ability to build trusted financial infrastructure.

"The competition is no longer just about product speed," he said. "Compliance, licensing, institutional trust, and global distribution capability are becoming the real differentiators."

The shift reflects broader changes taking place across the digital asset sector as firms expand into payments, custody, tokenized assets, treasury services, and settlement infrastructure.

Increasingly, crypto companies are positioning themselves not simply as exchanges, but as financial platforms.

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Why Tokenization Matters

Tokenization has become one of the fastest-growing themes in global finance.

From Treasury bills and money market funds to equities, commodities, and private credit, institutions are increasingly exploring how blockchain networks can improve the efficiency of traditional financial assets.

The appeal is straightforward. Tokenized assets can settle faster, move across markets more easily, and be integrated into a wider range of financial applications than their traditional counterparts.

"We believe many traditional financial assets will eventually become tokenized," Zhou said. "Once assets move on-chain, they become more transferable, more interoperable, and more efficient to use across settlement, collateral, and treasury systems."

For Bybit, that means investing in infrastructure capable of supporting both institutional and retail participation in tokenized markets as adoption accelerates.

Stablecoins Are Becoming Core Financial Infrastructure

The conversation also highlighted the growing role of stablecoins in global payments and settlement.

Over the past few years, stablecoins have evolved from a crypto trading tool into one of blockchain's most important financial products. They now facilitate everything from remittances and cross-border payments to treasury management and onchain commerce.

Bybit is investing heavily in that trend through initiatives such as MyBank and broader efforts to connect traditional banking systems with blockchain-based liquidity.

According to Zhou, users may eventually stop thinking about stablecoins altogether.

"Stablecoins are becoming an important layer for global value transfer and settlement," he said. "Over time, much of this infrastructure may become invisible to end users."

It's a vision shared by many fintech leaders who increasingly see blockchain as a backend technology rather than a consumer-facing product.

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AI Is Becoming Part of the Financial Stack

Another major theme discussed at the conference was the growing convergence between artificial intelligence and blockchain infrastructure.

As financial systems become increasingly programmable, Zhou expects AI agents to take on larger roles in areas such as trading, treasury management, and liquidity optimization.

But he also emphasized that automation alone is not enough. Institutional adoption will require governance frameworks, oversight mechanisms, and risk controls capable of supporting increasingly autonomous financial systems.

"AI and blockchain naturally complement each other," Zhou said. "Financial systems are becoming more programmable, but institutional adoption will require clear governance and risk management standards."

Building for Institutions

While innovation remains central to crypto's growth story, Zhou stressed that long-term adoption depends on trust.

Bybit continues to invest in regulated custody frameworks, cold wallet security systems, hardware security modules, compliance infrastructure, and risk management capabilities designed to meet institutional requirements.

"Institutional adoption depends on trust, governance, and operational resilience," Zhou said. "The platforms that succeed long term will be the ones that can combine innovation with strong risk management and regulatory alignment."

The comments reflect a broader reality emerging across the digital asset industry.

As tokenization expands and stablecoins become increasingly integrated into global finance, the conversation is shifting away from whether blockchain technology will be adopted and toward who will provide the infrastructure that powers it.

For Zhou, that future may arrive sooner than many expect.