Bybit CEO Ben Zhou Pushes Back on AI Layoff Excuse, Outlines Vision for Full Financial Platform

TLDR:

• Bybit CEO Ben Zhou says companies are using AI as a cover for layoffs, not a genuine workforce shift.
• Zhou likens AI adoption to Excel — transformative over time, but efficiency gains are still hard to measure. 
• Bybit has grown to 85 million registered users, with proactive regulation driving government-level meetings.
• Bybit plans to merge crypto, stocks, gold, and payments into one unified app for complete financial freedom.

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Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has pushed back against companies citing artificial intelligence as the main reason for mass layoffs. Speaking in an April 23 interview with When Shift Happens, Zhou said businesses may simply want to cut costs.

He argued that AI still cannot replace a large portion of the workforce. Zhou also shared broader thoughts on Bybit’s growth, regulatory approach, and the future of digital finance.

Zhou Questions AI as a Justification for Workforce Cuts

Zhou stated plainly that he does not believe AI can replace a significant share of workers today. Many companies, in his view, are using AI as a convenient excuse to justify job cuts.

He made his position clear during the interview, saying, “I don’t buy companies blaming layoffs on AI.” The intent behind those decisions, he suggested, often has more to do with cost reduction than technology.

He compared AI adoption to when businesses first started using Excel. That shift was significant, but its full effect on each department took time to measure.

Zhou said AI’s current role is similar — it is changing workflows, but the depth of that change remains unclear. In his words, AI adoption is “a major change, but how much it will transform each department still needs to be tested.”

One clear sign of AI adoption at Bybit is the rising internal spending on large-model tokens. However, Zhou noted that measuring actual efficiency gains from that spending remains a challenge.

He pointed out that “internal spending on large-model tokens is rising quickly, but the actual efficiency gains are hard to quantify.” Without proper measurement tools, it is difficult to justify or scale AI investment responsibly.

Bybit’s strategy going forward involves re-engineering its API infrastructure to integrate AI more seamlessly. Zhou sees AI and crypto as complementary forces rather than competing ones. He believes AI agents will likely drive future transactions using cryptocurrency.

Bybit Eyes Expansion Into a Full Financial Platform

Zhou outlined a broader vision for Bybit beyond its current role as a crypto exchange. He wants the platform to evolve into a single app offering stocks, gold, payments, and investments alongside crypto.

Banks, brokers, and crypto exchanges, he said, will eventually converge into “a single app for diverse financial activities.”

Bybit currently has 85 million registered users and around 500,000 daily active users. That growth has come alongside proactive engagement with regulators, which has opened doors to meetings with heads of government. Zhou credited that approach with positioning Bybit as a responsible player in the industry.

On the Web3 side, Bybit has launched Byreal, a decentralized exchange built on Solana. The platform also made an early strategic investment in Ethena, aimed at bridging liquidity between centralized and decentralized systems. These moves reflect Bybit’s intent to serve both retail users and institutional participants.

Zhou also addressed the $1.5 billion hack Bybit suffered, describing the steps taken to rebuild a secure, banking-grade cold wallet system.

He stressed that strong leadership during a crisis means “providing clear direction and maintaining team composure.” Moving forward, Bybit’s goal remains offering users access to all asset classes within a single, trusted platform.

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