Key Insights:
- 24/7 access removes the weekend trading gap found in traditional FX markets.
- USDT settlement eliminates the need to hold the underlying fiat currencies.
- 100x leverage significantly increases liquidation risk during sharp moves.
Bybit launched three forex perpetual contracts on September 8, expanding its derivatives business into major global currency markets. The new USDT-settled products track EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY while offering continuous trading and leverage of up to 100x.
Bybit is Taking Crypto Derivatives Deeper Into The Forex Market
Bybit (@Bybit_Official) has launched USDT settled perpetuals tracking EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY.
The new contracts give crypto traders exposure to major currency movements without owning the underlying… pic.twitter.com/IO9QuQhVgz
— BSCN (@BSCNews) September 9, 2026
Bybit Moves Into Major Currency Markets
Bybit listed the three contracts under EURUSDUSDT, GBPUSDUSDT and USDJPYUSDT. Each product provides synthetic exposure to its corresponding spot currency pair.
Traders can therefore speculate on currency movements without holding euros, pounds, dollars or yen. Instead, profits, losses and collateral remain denominated in USDT. The contracts carry no expiration date, allowing traders to maintain positions indefinitely. However, funding payments can affect the cost of keeping positions open.
The products also operate through Bybit’s Unified Trading Account. The exchange uses funding rates and dynamic leverage to help keep contract prices aligned with their reference markets. Traditional foreign exchange markets generally close over weekends and holidays. By contrast, these contracts remain available around the clock.
The spread may make sense to crypto traders who are following economic or geopolitical events outside the typical trading hours for FX. It might, however, also lead to price differentials during big currency market closures.
New risk from continuous trading
The 24/7 model ensures traders are able to access the market at times when institutional trading is restricted. However, prices of the perps may be impacted by weekend developments prior to a return in heavier FX liquidity.
A reduction in liquidity may cause spreads to increase and give rise to temporary differences between the contracts and their reference rates. Traders may consequently face additional execution risks during quieter periods.
Bybit also allows maximum leverage of 100x across the new contracts. This leverage may result in bigger profit, but also in faster losses and liquidation.
The precise liquidation point depends on factors including entry price, maintenance margin and trading fees. Funding payments can further affect positions held for longer periods.
The contracts therefore combine familiar forex exposure with the mechanics of crypto perpetual markets.
Bybit Broadens Its TradFi Strategy
The forex launch expands Bybit’s TradFi Perpetuals suite, which began in April 2026. The exchange now says the lineup contains more than 200 products.
Those instruments cover equities, commodities, exchange-traded funds and pre-IPO companies. The latest listings extend that strategy into one of the largest traditional financial markets.
Bybit entered an increasingly competitive segment as other crypto exchanges developed similar products. In April of 2025, Kraken rolled out five perpetual futures, offering up to 50x leverage.
In April 2026, BitMEX trailed with six currency pairs with up to 100x leverage. Bybit now joins that growing group with three major currency pairs.
The broader market has also attracted significant trading activity. CryptoQuant data cited in earlier coverage showed TradFi perpetual open interest exceeding $2 billion between late May and July.
However, Bybit did not provide opening volume or open-interest figures for its new forex products. That leaves their initial market reception unclear.
The $9.6 Trillion Market Becomes the Prize
The scale of global foreign exchange makes the expansion strategically significant. The Bank, for International Settlements reported that the average daily foreign exchange turnover hit $9.6 trillion in April 2025.
This number was a 28% rise compared to $7.5 trillion in 2022. Bybit is therefore targeting a market that dwarfs crypto trading volumes in many traditional measures.
The immediate test will center on liquidity and price tracking rather than the size of the addressable market. Bybit must maintain reliable pricing across weekends, holidays and periods of severe currency volatility.
There are also factors of funding rates and index methodology that will impact the volume of offset from spot markets. Regional restrictions may restrict access for certain customers, meanwhile.
The launch also serves as a testament to the growing intermingling of traditional finance and crypto infrastructure. There are already exchanges that provide round-the-clock derivatives markets with stablecoin settlements and margin facilities. There are already exchanges that have round-the-clock derivatives markets with stablecoin settlement and margin facilities.
That infrastructure has been expanded to a new asset class, foreign exchange exposure. Bybit’s move will help bolster its standing beyond the crypto-native derivatives market.
However, traders face a different set of risks with the products. Although currency trading movements may seem small, when trading with 100x leverage, there isn’t much room for price action to turn in a negative direction.
The company has not stated any other currency pairs or the time to expand further its FX business. The next is to see if traders take up these contracts in any significant number.
