Bybit Launches Pre-IPO Perpetual Futures Linked to Unitree, Moonshot AI

Global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has launched pre-IPO perpetual futures linked to Chinese robotics company Unitree and artificial intelligence startup Moonshot AI.

Cointelegraph reported on August 15 that the products are USDT-settled perpetual futures contracts, allowing investors to trade on the companies’ price moves without owning the underlying unlisted shares.

Unitree received approval from Chinese securities regulators in July for an initial public offering on Shanghai’s STAR Market. The new product gives investors a way to bet on changes in the company’s valuation before its stock-market debut.

Bybit has been moving beyond digital assets into traditional finance and private-company products. Its TradFi perpetual futures lineup, launched in April, has expanded to more than 200 instruments, including stocks, exchange-traded funds, commodities, indexes and private companies.

Crypto exchanges are also stepping up their push into the private-company investment market. Binance, Coinbase and Kraken rolled out related derivatives in June ahead of SpaceX’s listing, offering investors exposure to pre-listing price swings.

The move comes as the tokenization market, which brings traditional assets such as stocks onto blockchain rails, continues to grow. Data from RWA.xyz showed the total value of tokenized stocks in circulation had risen to $2.38 billion, while the number of holders climbed to 1.31 million, up 123.62% over the past 30 days.

As crypto exchanges broaden their offerings from tokenized stocks to private companies and IPO candidates, the boundary between traditional finance and digital-asset markets is blurring quickly.