1 day ago
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Bybit just rolled out perpetual contracts tracking three of the world’s most traded currency pairs, giving crypto-native traders a way to speculate on forex markets without ever leaving the exchange. The new USDT-settled contracts cover EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY, and they trade around the clock with leverage up to 100x.
Traditional forex markets close on weekends. These don’t. That’s the pitch.
What Bybit is actually offering
The three new contracts, listed as EURUSDUSDT, GBPUSDUSDT, and USDJPYUSDT, are synthetic perpetual contracts. They mirror spot forex rates but settle in USDT, meaning traders can collateralize positions with crypto assets rather than fiat currency.
Like other perpetuals, there’s no expiration date. Positions stay open as long as the trader wants, subject to funding rate payments every eight hours. Bybit has capped that funding rate at 0.5%, which keeps costs from spiraling during periods of heavy directional bias.
The tick size is set at 0.00001, matching the precision traders expect from institutional forex platforms. And to sweeten the launch, Bybit is temporarily waiving fees on limit orders entirely while offering a 50% discount on market order fees.
These forex contracts join what is now a TradFi Perpetual suite of over 200 synthetic assets. Bybit began building out this category in April 2026, initially covering equities and commodities before expanding into currency pairs.
Why forex, and why now
The 24/7 angle is genuinely differentiated. Traditional FX markets operate roughly five and a half days a week, shutting down from Friday evening to Sunday evening New York time. Weekend gaps in forex can catch traders off guard, particularly during geopolitical events that don’t conveniently wait for Monday morning. Perpetual contracts on a crypto exchange eliminate that blind spot.
For traders who already hold USDT or other crypto collateral, these products remove a layer of friction. Instead of moving funds to a traditional forex broker, passing through KYC again, and converting to fiat, they can open a EUR/USD position on the same platform where they trade Bitcoin.
The convergence trade
Crypto exchanges already have the technology stack for 24/7 margined derivatives trading. They have liquid stablecoin pools for settlement. Layering forex exposure on top of that infrastructure is more of an incremental build than a moonshot. Bybit isn’t the first to make this move — BitMEX has pursued a similar path, offering synthetic exposure to traditional assets through crypto-settled derivatives.
At 100x leverage, these aren’t products for the faint of heart. A 1% adverse move at max leverage wipes out a position entirely.
The funding rate cap at 0.5% per interval is worth watching. In crypto perpetuals, funding rates can occasionally spike dramatically during volatile periods, creating punishing carry costs for traders on the wrong side. Capping the rate provides a degree of predictability that forex traders, accustomed to relatively stable overnight financing costs, will likely appreciate.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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