- Bybit CEO Ben Chu said the next phase of financing will be shaped by artificial intelligence, tokenization and regulatory clarity rather than price speculation.
- At Paris Blockchain Week 2026, he said that financial platforms may eventually become almost invisible as intelligence and trust move to the background.
Ben Zhou didn’t spend much time talking about Paris token prices. That in itself was a sign.
Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week 2026, the Bybit co-founder and CEO used a fireside chat to paint a broader vision of where the industry might go next.
He said the future of cryptocurrencies will not be determined by trading cycles alone, but by a deeper rebuilding of financial infrastructure around artificial intelligence, programmable assets and clearer regulation.
Finance may stop being a platform at all, says Ben Zhou
One of Zhou’s most interesting points was about the interface. In his view, users may not interact with financial platforms directly for much longer. Instead, they may rely on AI agents that can interpret data, implement strategies, and manage financial tasks in real time.
BybitHe said it has already introduced AI agent accounts that allow clients to create sub-accounts for AI systems to access market data, interact with markets and implement strategies. Chu described agent payments as an emerging topic, suggesting that the industry is still at the beginning of this transformation.
This is a bigger claim than it appears at first glance. If financial interaction increasingly shifts from manual clicks to delegated software, the visual platform becomes less important. The intelligence behind it matters more.
Trust and organization have become the actual product
Zhu also claimed that the most important transformation in finance is happening quietly. He said that traditional institutions do not intervene blockchain Through speculation. They are integrating it as infrastructure, especially through stablecoins and more efficient settlement systems.
In this context, cryptocurrencies are no longer an alternative to finance as much as they have become a layer embedded in it.
He linked this shift directly to regulation. He said jurisdictions such as the UAE are helping to create structured pathways for innovation, while Europe, the US and the UK are gradually providing more clarity. This is important because organizations tend to follow rules before they follow narratives.
Zhou’s concluding point was the most revealing. He said the goal is not to replace the current financial system, but to make it more accessible, more efficient and almost invisible in everyday life. In this version of the future, users do not think about wallets, blockchains or exchanges. The system simply works.
