Markets · Stablecoins
Bybit Starts Selling Real US Shares for a Dollar Stablecoin Through Alpaca, Exchange Says
Bybit says eligible users outside the US and the other jurisdictions excluded by the product terms can now buy more than 1,000 US stocks and ETFs with USDC, routed through a Mauritius-licensed broker and held at Alpaca in that broker's name.
Bybit, which says it has more than 80 million users, began selling more than 1,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs to eligible users outside the United States on Oct. 12, paid for in USDC and held by Alpaca, a US broker-dealer. USDC is Circle's dollar stablecoin, a token meant to stay worth $1, and in this setup the shares sit with Alpaca in a pooled account in the name of Infra Capital, a Mauritius-licensed broker that takes Bybit users' orders.
These are shares, not tokens or derivatives. Bybit's release says the product gives users "an economic interest in the underlying securities they purchase," unlike "price derivatives or synthetic instruments." US persons cannot use it. The product terms say the service is not "made available or accessible in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, any U.S. Prohibited Person."
Why now, and who it touches: in Le Coin's view, the news is the funding rail. An investor abroad who already holds dollars as a stablecoin can reach US equities without a local bank wire, and Alpaca gains a distribution channel. That is a different route into US stocks from tokenized shares, where the investor holds a token on a blockchain.
The money moves as a stablecoin, the shares stay in a US broker
The product terms, issued by Infra Capital, lay out the chain. Purchases are made with "Eligible Assets," defined as "USDC and any other Digital Assets which we have specified." Before an order goes through, Infra checks the user's balance "with a buffer of two percent (2%) for market fluctuations" and places a hold. The user authorizes Bybit to move the USDC "to your account with Infra (or Infra's delegate which may include Alpaca or its affiliate)."
Infra is the introducing broker. It routes the order to Alpaca Securities LLC, which "will execute, clear and settle trades" and "perform the clearing, settlement, custody and safeguarding functions." Sale proceeds and cash dividends come back as USDC. The release says dividends "are converted from USD into USDC."
Fig. 1. Who holds what in a Bybit stock purchase, Oct. 12, 2026 (Source: Direct Stocks Product Terms, effective September 2026, source 3; Bybit release, source 1; Bybit announcement, source 2; Alpaca blog, source 4. Table of stated facts, source 7.)
| Step | Party | What the documents say it does | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Fund | User, Bybit | User holds USDC in a Bybit Unified Trading Account; Bybit moves it to the user's account with Infra or its delegate | 2; 3, cl. 5.7 to 5.9 |
| 2. Convert | Not named | Sale proceeds are "converted to an Eligible Asset"; Infra says "We are not conducting such conversion" | 3, cl. 5.13 |
| 3. Route | Infra Capital Limited | Introducing broker, licensed by the FSC Mauritius; routes the order to Alpaca | 1; 3, cl. 3.1; 5 |
| 4. Execute and hold | Alpaca Securities LLC | Executes, clears, settles and holds the shares in an omnibus account in Infra's name | 3, cl. 3.1, 4.1; 4; 6 |
| 5. Record | Infra Capital Limited | Keeps "internal records identifying each customer's beneficial interest" | 3, cl. 4.3 |
The terms leave one gap. They do not say who converts USDC into dollars on the way in, or at what rate, and on the way out they say only that proceeds are converted "subject to currency conversion fees" set in a fee schedule this desk could not load.
The shares are real, and they are in Infra's name
The custody clause is the answer to anyone who files this as an exchange adding stocks. Infra opens "one (1) or more legal omnibus brokerage accounts" at Alpaca, and "the Omnibus Account is in the name of Infra." Alpaca "will not establish any accounts in your name." Securities "may be registered, held or recorded in the name of Infra, Alpaca, custodian or other intermediary."
That shapes the protection. Alpaca is a FINRA member, CRD 288202, per BrokerCheck. The terms and Alpaca's disclosure say it is also a member of SIPC, the US fund that protects brokerage customers' securities and cash if a member firm fails, and the terms put that protection at up to US$500,000, including up to US$250,000 for uninvested cash; it does not cover market losses. Users "are treated as customers of Infra, and not as customers of Alpaca," so eligibility "depends on Infra's status as Alpaca's customer of record." If Alpaca fails, a user's claim "may be affected by any shortfall in the Omnibus Account."
The licence checks out with a caveat. The Mauritius regulator's online register lists Infra Capital Limited as an "SEC-2.1B Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting)," licensed on Sept. 28, 2023. The entry does not display the number GB23202169 that Bybit and Alpaca cite in their disclosures.
Who is shut out
The terms exclude a list of jurisdictions that opens with "EEA Countries" and includes Mauritius, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and the UAE, ending with "UAE and United States of America." Mauritius is Infra's home regulator. The UAE is where Bybit datelined its release.
The objection, and a conflict on votes
The objection is that this is a brokerage white label with a crypto funding screen. Le Coin's view is that the label is fair and is also the point. A stablecoin balance becomes the account currency for US shares, while the plumbing is the ordinary US clearing chain.
The documents do not agree on voting. Bybit's announcement says users "retain full voting rights." Bybit's own release says "Voting rights are planned for launch in a future phase." The terms describe a process: voting instructions "will be processed by Alpaca, in accordance with your instructions," relayed through Infra. Bybit's announcement also says "some corporate actions may be restricted at this time."
There is a revenue line as well. The terms say Alpaca receives payment for order flow and Infra receives "a percentage of the PFOF," which they call "a conflict of interest." Bybit advertises "$0 commission," and the terms allow "an embedded spread."
The tell
What would change the view is volume. Bybit's release gives no figure for funded accounts or assets held, and Alpaca's post says Bybit is "measuring success based on user adoption, engagement, and satisfaction."
The checkable fact: the terms in force carry a Sept. 3, 2026 update stamp, and the voting clause is 8.2. A revised version would appear in Bybit's terms history.
Sources
- Bybit press release via PR Newswire, Oct. 12, 2026, 3:30 a.m. ET (no issuer-hosted copy found): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bybit-supports-stocks-trading-giving-eligible-global-users-access-to-1-000-us-stocks-and-etfs-302905392.html (accessed Oct. 12, 2026, 1:21 p.m. ET)
- Bybit announcement, Oct. 12, 2026: https://announcements.bybit.com/en/article/bybit-expands-beyond-crypto-with-direct-access-to-u-s-stocks-etfs--art55453cbc5bf2/ (accessed Oct. 12, 2026, 1:21 p.m. ET)
- Infra Capital Limited, Direct Stocks Product Terms, effective September 2026 (data source for Fig. 1): https://www.bybit.com/common-static/compliance/legal/BYBIT/d7804a621f9f379d18e38fc8f8a86fd6.pdf (accessed Oct. 12, 2026, 1:24 p.m. ET)
- Alpaca blog, Oct. 12, 2026: https://alpaca.markets/blog/bybit-partners-with-alpaca-to-expand-multi-asset-ecosystem/ (accessed Oct. 12, 2026, 1:21 p.m. ET)
- Financial Services Commission, Mauritius, Online Public Register, Infra Capital Limited: https://opr.fscmauritius.org/ords/opr/r/fsc-opr/fsc-online-public-register-opr (accessed Oct. 12, 2026, 1:27 p.m. ET)
- FINRA BrokerCheck, Alpaca Securities LLC, CRD 288202: https://files.brokercheck.finra.org/firm/firm_288202.pdf (accessed Oct. 12, 2026, 1:25 p.m. ET)
- Fig. 1 calculation note: no calculations; each cell restates a cited clause from sources 1 to 4; a step the sources do not assign to a named party is marked "Not named." Data file drafts/wip/markets-2026-10-12-bybit-alpaca.fig-1-data.csv
Holding the Corner.
Not financial advice.