Can You Buy Stocks With Crypto? Bybit Adds 1,000 US Stocks, but Not Every Version Gives You the Shares
Bybit now lets you swap crypto for over 1,000 US stocks, but what you actually own depends on which version of the service you use, and the difference matters more than most buyers realize.
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Bybit announced on October 12, 2026, that users can now buy stocks with crypto, making it easier to trade more than 1,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs. The platform enables these trades using USD Coin (CRYPTO: USDC), a stablecoin designed to match the value of the US dollar.
However, it’s essential to understand that “stock” can mean different things in crypto trading. One method involves sending a buyer’s order to a US broker who holds the actual shares. In contrast, another method issues a token that tracks a company’s shares, based on terms set by the token’s creator.
Bybit specifies that USDC is the only cryptocurrency involved. So what do buyers actually own when they purchase stocks like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) with crypto?
Bybit Routes Stock Orders Through Alpaca, a US Broker
When you buy stocks through Bybit, your orders are executed by Alpaca Securities LLC, a US broker that holds the underlying shares. Bybit offers popular stocks such as Apple, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU), and the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100 index.
Users can pay for their stock purchases using USDC directly from their Bybit account, and fractional shares are available. This means buyers can own a portion of a stock without paying for a whole share.
Trading runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, across US pre-market, regular, and after-hours sessions, depending on product availability. Bybit doesn’t charge commissions on eligible trades, but its announcement doesn’t spell out other fees.
Who Holds the Shares Bought on Bybit?
Bybit clarifies that Alpaca executes the trades and maintains custody of the underlying stocks. As a self-clearing broker-dealer, Alpaca manages settlements and record-keeping internally. It is also a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which safeguards customers’ securities up to $500,000 in case a member broker fails.
According to Bybit, Infra Capital Limited, regulated by Mauritius’s Financial Services Commission, serves as the introducing broker, signing up clients and forwarding their orders to Alpaca.
Bybit Buyers Get an Economic Interest, Not Registered Shares
Bybit says users gain an economic interest in the underlying stocks, which it distinguishes from derivatives or synthetic price exposure. This means users share in the stocks’ gains and losses and receive dividends; however, they are not registered shareholders, so their names do not appear on official company records.
Bybit converts cash dividends from US stocks from US dollars to USDC and credits them to the user’s account, while stock dividends and stock splits are added to their positions. Bybit expects to offer voting rights for company meetings in the future, but currently, Bybit users do not have this privilege.
Bybit also restricts access to eligible users in specific jurisdictions who have completed KYC (know-your-customer) identity checks. The announcement did not specify which countries are included. Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou emphasized that this launch aims to broaden access to financial markets, allowing users to explore more opportunities.
Bybit Also Offers Tokenized Stocks Through Backed’s xStocks
In addition to traditional stock trading, Bybit offers tokenized stocks through products like Backed’s xStocks, which provide non-US investors with tokenized exposure to companies like NVIDIA, Apple, and the Bitcoin treasury company Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR).
These tokens can move between Bybit and the Mantle (CRYPTO: MNT) network, and traders can also use them in Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) decentralized applications such as Kamino, Raydium, and Jupiter. This method offers more flexibility but diverges from Bybit’s traditional stock service, where a regulated US broker holds the actual shares and outlines how dividends and stock splits work.
So, Can You Buy Stocks With Crypto?
Yes, you can buy stocks with crypto, but the type of purchase you make determines your level of ownership. If a FINRA and SIPC member broker holds the actual securities, you’re on the share path. If you’re using tokens, the token issuer’s rules dictate what you own.
In Bybit’s share path, you have an economic interest in the stocks without being recognized as a registered owner—meaning you won’t have voting rights just yet.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
