Bybit launched three FX perpetual contracts on September 8, expanding its derivatives business into major global currency markets. The exchange introduced USDT-settled contracts tracking EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY with continuous trading and leverage. According to Bybit's official release, all three contracts offer maximum leverage of 100x and remain tradable around the clock daily. The products use USDT collateral, indefinite maturities, funding rates, and Bybit's Unified Trading Account system. The contracts are listed as BITSTAMP:EURUSD, BITSTAMP:GBPUSD, and KRAKEN:USDJPY and provide synthetic perpetual contracts that mirror spot forex rates but settle in USDT. As reported by Bybit, these new contracts join what is now a TradFi Perpetual suite of over 200 synthetic assets, with Bybit beginning to build this category in April 2026, initially covering equities and commodities before expanding into currency pairs. The contracts are kept separate from Bybit's MetaTrader 5-based CFD service, which operates through a dedicated MT5 account with different trading hours and provides more than 70 FX pairs and over 400 instruments with leverage of up to 500x.
The Bybit FX perpetuals operate continuously and offer leverage of up to 100x, with no expiration dates. As reported by Bybit, traders can maintain positions without rolling contracts into later maturities, although periodic funding payments may affect the cost of holding them. The contracts provide synthetic exposure to currency movements, with buyers not owning euros, pounds, dollars or yen directly. Profits, losses and collateral are denominated in USDT, and the products follow their respective spot exchange rates according to Bybit's official release. The contracts feature tick size of 0.00001, matching institutional forex platform precision, and funding rates capped at 0.5% per eight-hour interval to prevent spiraling costs during volatile periods. The 24/7 trading capability differentiates these products from traditional forex markets that operate roughly five and a half days a week, shutting down from Friday evening to Sunday evening New York time. This continuous trading allows traders greater flexibility when responding to global economic developments, eliminating the weekend gaps that can catch traders off guard during geopolitical events. The products can be used for directional trading or to hedge currency exposure while retaining crypto collateral, as perpetual contracts use recurring funding payments to keep prices aligned with underlying markets rather than settling on fixed expiry dates.
The launch targets the $9.6 trillion daily foreign exchange market that averaged $9.6 trillion during April 2025, according to Bank for International Settlements data. Bybit enters a competitive landscape where Kraken introduced five FX perpetual futures in April 2025 with leverage reaching 50x, and BitMEX followed in April 2026 with six currency pairs offering leverage of up to 100x. The exchange's 24/7 trading capability eliminates weekend gaps in forex markets that can catch traders off guard during geopolitical events, as traditional forex markets close from Friday evening to Sunday evening New York time. Bybit joins a limited group of crypto exchanges offering FX perpetuals, with the exchange offering temporary fee waivers on limit orders and 50% discounts on market order fees to sweeten the launch. The exchange is building on its existing TradFi Perpetual suite that already includes contracts linked to precious metals, oil and major company shares, with these forex contracts joining the over 200 synthetic assets suite. For traders who already hold USDT or other crypto collateral, these products remove friction by allowing them to open EUR/USD positions on the same platform where they trade Bitcoin, without moving funds to traditional forex brokers and converting to fiat currency.
The 100x leverage allows traders to control positions much larger than their posted collateral but reduces the price movement needed to trigger liquidation. According to Bybit's announcement, the precise liquidation level depends on entry price, maintenance margin, fees and the exchange's risk rules. USDT settlement removes the need to hold each underlying currency but introduces exposure to the stablecoin and Bybit's custody, liquidation and settlement systems. The exchange emphasized that the products are intended for traders who understand leveraged derivatives, with access depending on jurisdiction, account eligibility and local regulations. The funding rate cap at 0.5% per interval provides predictability that forex traders accustomed to stable overnight financing costs will appreciate, while the 100x leverage means a 1% adverse move can completely wipe out a position entirely. In crypto perpetuals, funding rates can occasionally spike dramatically during volatile periods, creating punishing carry costs for traders on the wrong side, making the capped rate particularly valuable for forex traders. The around-the-clock structure creates advantages for access but also introduces risks that differ from underlying FX markets, as perpetual contracts may face thinner liquidity during weekends when conventional FX trading is closed. The initial contract specifications do not identify the price data sources or explain how the reference price will be handled while the underlying market is closed, with Bybit stating it may adjust parameters including leverage, margin rates, funding rates and price sources.
