Cody McGrath 
Bybit, a cryptocurrency derivatives provider, will begin offering consumers options trading in addition to its existing perpetual futures and expiration futures contracts.
The company did not provide a precise launch date when it made the news on Tuesday, but it did say that Bybit users would be able to trade USDC options and perpetuals using portfolio margin.
In a statement, Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, stated, “Options is something that our existing clients have long been asking for as there has been no other breakthrough product available in the industry at the present.”
“We are convinced that our cutting-edge product, similar to what Robinhood accomplished for stock options, will set the benchmark for the sector and legitimize crypto options trading.”
Zhou first proposed launching options trading in July of last year, stating that the product would be accessible by the end of 2021.
The company is optimistic about its prospects in the options trading sector. Igneus Terrenus, Bybit’s head of communications, told the media at the Dubai Crypto Expo 2022 last month that the company was aiming for a 50% share of the crypto options market over the next 18 months.
Bybit moves to Dubai
Bybit joined the ranks of companies moving their offices from Singapore to Dubai last month, in response to the UAE’s new Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law, which intends to strengthen the emirate’s crypto economy.
After a chilly response elsewhere in the previous year, Bybit has been warmly embraced in Dubai. Financial regulators in the United Kingdom and Japan issued warnings against it due to its lack of registration in various jurisdictions.
Bybit also announced that users would be able to buy cryptocurrency with their credit and debit cards.