Crypto exchange Bybit has launched pre-IPO perpetual contracts for Chinese robotics firm Unitree and AI startup Moonshot AI, expanding its offerings in private-market trading. These USDT-denominated contracts provide price exposure without direct share ownership.
The expansion of pre-IPO perpetuals by crypto exchanges like Bybit signifies a growing intersection between traditional finance and the digital asset space, offering new avenues for speculative investment in private companies.
Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit has expanded its offerings in private-market trading by launching pre-IPO perpetual contracts for Chinese robotics firm Unitree and artificial intelligence startup Moonshot AI. These USDT-denominated contracts allow traders to gain price exposure to the underlying shares without direct ownership.
Bybit stated that its TradFi perpetuals lineup has grown to over 200 products since its launch in April, encompassing equities, ETFs, commodities, indices, and pre-IPO companies. Unitree has already received approval from China's securities regulator for an initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR Market.
This move by Bybit aligns with a broader trend among crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken, to offer crypto-native derivatives that provide exposure to private companies ahead of their public listings. The growth in private-market products on crypto platforms coincides with a rise in on-chain equities, with data from RWA.xyz indicating that tokenized stocks have reached $2.38 billion in distributed value and have seen a 123.62% increase in holders over the past 30 days.