Today in Crypto: Crypto exchange Bybit said it will launch bank accounts in February, Worldcoin’s price surged on reports of a new AI project from OpenAI, and US lawmakers return to Capitol Hill as senators weigh amendments to a crypto market structure bill.
Bybit to launch retail bank accounts in February
Bybit, one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges by trading volume, plans to launch retail banking services on its platform starting in February, the company said Thursday.
Bybit unveiled the product, “My Bank powered by Bybit,” during a live online keynote on Thursday.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said the service will offer users a personal IBAN (international bank account number), allowing them to send and receive funds across banks in multiple currencies, with US dollar transfers supported at launch.
The move marks Bybit’s latest effort to expand beyond crypto trading, coming about a year after it was hit by a $1.4 billion hack.
Bybit said users will gain access to their personal bank accounts immediately after completing Know Your Customer (KYC) verification, allowing them to deposit fiat currency, pay bills, receive salaries and trade crypto — all under their own name.
Bybit said it is collaborating with several banking partners, including Qatar National Bank (QNB) and DMZ Finance, with which it partnered in September 2025 on tokenized asset initiatives.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced the company’s plan to launch banking services in a keynote on Thursday. Source: Bybit
According to Bloomberg, the company is also working with startup lender Pave Bank, licensed in the Eastern European country of Georgia.
The service is expected to support transfers in as many as 18 currencies, though it remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Cointelegraph reached out to Bybit for further comment on the new banking services but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Worldcoin spikes 40% as OpenAI reportedly plans biometric X rival
OpenAI-linked token Worldcoin spiked 40% on Wednesday following a report that the artificial intelligence firm is working on a bot-free social media platform that requires “proof of personhood.”
According to a Tuesday Forbes report citing sources familiar with the matter, OpenAI is aiming to develop a “humans-only platform” as a point of difference from other social media services on the market.
Still in its early stages, sources state that a small team of around 10 people is building the platform to compete with X, and that it has reportedly been in development since early 2025, according to tech news outlet The Verge.
Forbes’ sources claimed that any “proof of personhood” would likely be verified via Apple’s Face ID or the World Orb eyeball scanner, which has also been utilized as part of World, the blockchain and crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
US senators to weigh CFTC, other amendments to crypto market structure bill
US lawmakers are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday after inclement weather delayed committee meetings and votes, with attention turning to how senators will handle proposed amendments to a long-awaited crypto market structure bill.
On Thursday, senators on the Senate Agriculture Committee are scheduled to meet for a markup on the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (DCIA), a bill to establish a digital asset market structure framework.
The markup is one of the first attempts by the chamber to advance market structure legislation amid the Senate Banking Committee postponing its markup after Coinbase pulled its support for the bill.
Among the 11 DCIA amendments publicly available at the time of publication were proposals for banning lawmakers and White House officials from engaging with the crypto industry, forcing companies to compete on credit card swipe fees and addressing foreign interference in US markets.
Another amendment would prevent the law to be implemented until the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had at least four commissioners in its leadership.
The CFTC amendment, proposed by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, was in response to a dearth of commissioners at the federal financial regulator following the resignation of acting chair Caroline Pham and other members in 2025.
Klobuchar proposed that the market structure bill, if signed into law, not take effect “until at least four commissioners” at the CFTC were confirmed by the Senate.
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