Technology

Trends in Focus: Ben Zhou Highlights Compliance, Growth, and AI in Crypto

Published

2 years ago

October 8, 2024

DUBAI, UAE, Oct. 8, 2024 /CNW/ — Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, shared his candid views on crypto compliance, sensible AI deployments, and new growth drivers at TOKEN2049. Sharing the main stage with panelists from other leading exchanges, Ben addressed the growing pains of mainstreaming exchanges, and how they are adapting to meet increasing regulatory requirements at the annual premier crypto event, attended by over 30,000 participants and amplifying leading voices in the blockchain and crypto economy.

Advance Compliance: A Necessary Luxury

“Compliance is not cheap, but the penalties are more expensive. And it comes with not just monetary but also other consequences,” Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit remarked.

Steering the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Ben Zhou admitted Bybit was on the same learning curve as other major exchanges.

“We are not the first ones, and we have the opportunities to learn and adapt the business,” he said about the rapid changes in the compliance landscape, acknowledging that all exchanges including Bybit are ramping up their compliance efforts.

Only a year ago, exchanges used to place an amount limit on compliance checks; but Bybit has been taking a prudent approach of standardizing compliance and safety checks on practically transaction of any amount, after witnessing “what had happened in the industry,” he disclosed.

Compliance overhead has increased accordingly. “The operations are getting a lot heavier with a lot more manpower,” he said, adding that third-party tools such as Chainalysis have been useful in improving due diligence and KYC, adding costs but also efficiency.

At the time of writing, a team of over 50 risk experts operate Bybit’s AI-enhanced risk engine alongside a growing legal and compliance function comprising compliance officers of various specialities and in-house counsel.

Ben also took pride in crypto‘s contribution to improving compliance practices and raised the bar to make it harder for rogue actors to bypass sanctions. “In our industry, we have revolutionized how compliance has been done. For instance, someone trying to access our platform from a sanctioned address would be identified within minutes and the address would be blocked. The industry is revolutionizing the old ways of doing things in compliance,” he said.

Incorporating AI Tools and Finding Growth

Bybit takes a “slightly different approach” to AI and recognizes the gap between the native interfaces and users’ demands.

“We don’t like to use APIs because retail users don’t understand them. Instead, we think about the user experience when they interact with exchanges: we use AI to make it a little easier with automation,” he explains.

In the fast-moving world of crypto, users seek not Wikipedia-style explanations of a newly listed token, but hard data and community feedback. Bybit uses AI as a co-pilot to produce a timely summary to break down data points and guide users doing their research to analysis, project background, and social noise. “Basically we look at which part of the process is mundane, and try to streamline it,” he said of the way Bybit deploys AI.

Ben also revealed the geography of growth as crypto continues to serve as a driver for financial inclusion. He commented on the fast-growing TON ecosystem and play-to-earn games, drawing in diverse user groups from Africa, India to parts of Eastern Europe, mapping out a new trend of onboarding users from emerging economies.

Crypto offers an engaging way to empower these communities, he said, where traditional financial infrastructure may fall short for retail users.

Themed “Exchanges at the Helm: Driving Crypto from Niche to Mainstream”, the panel was moderated by Michael Casey, Chairman of the Decentralized AI Society featuring prominent speakers including Ben Zhou at Bybit, Gracy Chen at Bitget, Vivien Lin at BingX, Sonia Shaw at Coin W and Alicia Kao at KuCoin.

#Bybit / #TheCryptoArk / #TOKEN2049

About Bybit

Bybit is one of the world’s top three crypto exchanges by trading volume with 50 million users. Established in 2018, it offers a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One’s reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions: the Oracle Red Bull Racing team.

For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press.
For media inquiries, please contact: media@bybit.com
For more information, please visit: https://www.bybit.com
For updates, please follow: Bybit’s Communities and Social Media

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SOURCE Bybit

Technology

eSign.AI Named Sole Electronic Signature Technology Provider for Hong Kong Government’s CorpID Project, Building the Foundation for Digital Signing Infrastructure in Hong Kong

Published

7 hours ago

May 8, 2026

HONG KONG, May 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As Hong Kong’s Digital Corporate Identity Platform (CorpID) counts down to its phased launch, eSign.AI has been appointed as the sole electronic signature vendor in the project, responsible for delivering core digital signing capabilities including digital signatures, certificate management, and signature verification services. CorpID is led by Nexify, a seasoned government systems integrator, as the prime contractor. The platform is expected to launch in phases starting late 2026, with multiple CorpID-based e-government services going live in mid-2027.

CorpID: Government-Grade Digital Identity Infrastructure for Hong Kong Enterprises

The Digital Corporate Identity Platform (CorpID) is an enterprise-level digital services platform launched by the Hong Kong SAR Government, developed under the oversight of the Digital Policy Office (DPO). It is designed to serve as the business equivalent of “iAM Smart,” providing a unified digital identity foundation for Hong Kong enterprises. CorpID’s core mission is to build an integrated digital government infrastructure — offering unified identity authentication, digital signing, form pre-filling, and e-licence storage — replacing paper-heavy, cumbersome traditional processes and enabling smart city development through seamless data connectivity.

The platform is open to companies incorporated under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) and businesses registered under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310), including sole proprietorships and partnerships. The DPO requires all enterprise-related e-government services to support CorpID within 18 months of launch, and will continue expanding ecosystem coverage through sandbox initiatives, cross-industry identity standard interoperability, and fully online registration processes.

eSign.AI: The Digital Signing Engine Behind CorpID

eSign.AI is an AI-native electronic signature and contract automation platform built for enterprises worldwide, offering a complete signing framework from simple electronic signatures to the highest-level compliant digital signatures — meeting diverse regulatory requirements across industries and jurisdictions.

On the identity verification front, eSign.AI has completed integration with iAM Smart, enabling individual identity verification through Hong Kong’s citizen digital identity system, and providing legally valid digital certificate services for both enterprises and individuals.

Looking ahead, the eSign.AI SaaS platform will be deeply integrated with CorpID, providing enterprise and individual identity verification for Hong Kong businesses, and supporting both electronic and digital signing that complies with Hong Kong’s Electronic Transactions Ordinance — connecting the full digital contracting lifecycle for government and enterprise alike.

Getting Ahead of the AI Era: From eSignGlobal to eSign.AI

The electronic signature industry is undergoing a structural shift from “tooling” to “intelligence.” Market data underscores this acceleration: the AI-powered contract analysis tools market has grown from USD 3.32 billion in 2025 to USD 4.3 billion in 2026, at a CAGR of 29.6%. Signing is just one node in the contract lifecycle — document generation, workflow orchestration, compliance tracking, and post-execution management are all being transformed by AI, and the industry window is closing fast.

In April 2026, the company officially rebranded from eSignGlobal to eSign.AI, completing its strategic transformation from an e-signature tool provider to an AI-native contract automation platform. As the company’s spokesperson noted, this rebrand is not cosmetic — it is an acknowledgment of where the product actually is. Customers were already using eSign.AI to automate workflows that go far beyond the signature itself.

eSign Automation Skill was launched alongside the rebrand — an AI-powered signing automation framework for enterprise workflows that enables complete contract signing through natural language interaction, with no manual intervention required. Whether it is single-party approval, multi-party sequential signing, or large-scale parallel execution, an AI Agent can orchestrate the entire workflow in a single call. All signature initiations and status queries return structured JSON outputs, directly parseable by leading large language models and intelligent workflow systems.

eSign Automation is now available in the OpenClaw ecosystem and supports integration via Claude MCP, ChatGPT, and other leading AI platforms.

By combining AI automation capabilities with CorpID’s government-grade digital identity infrastructure, eSign.AI delivers a complete solution for Hong Kong enterprises — from identity verification to intelligent signing to full workflow automation.

About eSign.AI

eSign.AI (formerly eSignGlobal) is an AI-native electronic signature and contract automation platform built for enterprises worldwide. The platform serves over 100 countries and regions, covering core industries including financial services, manufacturing, real estate, human resources, and healthcare — with 1,500+ scenario applications and 3,000+ ecosystem partners. eSign.AI holds ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and ISO 27018 certifications and supports major regulatory frameworks including the U.S. ESIGN Act / UETA, EU eIDAS, HIPAA, GDPR, and 21 CFR Part 11. Infrastructure is anchored by independent data centers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Frankfurt, Germany.

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SOURCE eSignGlobal

Technology

The 9th AskGamblers Awards Finalists Announced as Voting Starts

Published

7 hours ago

May 8, 2026

The highly anticipated 9th AskGamblers Awards has officially moved into the voting phase. Following a rigorous selection process, the finalists across 5 premier categories have been revealed: Best Casino, Best New Casino, Best New Slot, Best Sportsbook, Best Provider. Players are invited to cast their votes until 11 June.

BELGRADE, Serbia, May 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The voting stage of the 9th annual AskGamblers Awards has officially begun. The list of finalists is announced, and the first votes are already coming in.

Players will have a chance to vote for their favourites until 11 June, when the winners will be announced at the gala ceremony in Belgrade. There’s a total of 5 categories where popular votes are taken into consideration:

Best CasinoBest New CasinoBest SportsbookBest New SlotBest Game Provider

There aren’t any big changes to the voting process compared to last year. The votes from the prominent members of AskGamblers Forum will be counted in as well, while some award winners will be announced directly by the AskGamblers teams.

These include: Best Crypto Casino, Best Partner, and Best Manager categories, while the AskGamblers Superstar Award is expected to be handed to the operator that illustrates the brand values best.

Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, is excited for voting to start: “We’re seeing some familiar contestants, but there are a lot of new names, so it will be exciting to see who comes up on top.”

“We invite players to vote for their favourites! This is a chance for you to speak your mind and support operators and games that shape this industry,” Radunović added.

Before the AskGamblers Awards Ceremony that takes place on 11 June, Charity Night is scheduled for 10 June.

About AskGamblers

AskGamblers.com strives to provide current, objective, and accurate information and guide its users towards a safe gaming experience. The way we deliver our services, from the online casino, sportsbook, slot, and bonus reviews to our trusted Complaint Service, is best described by our motto: ‘Get the truth. Then play.’

For more information about AskGamblers and AskGamblers Awards, please contact dijana.radunovic@g2m.com.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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Technology

SUNMI Wins 2026 Red Dot Design Awards with Five Products, Leading Global Commercial Industrial Design

Published

7 hours ago

May 8, 2026

SINGAPORE, May 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The winners of the 2026 German Red Dot Design Award were officially announced. Five of SUNMI Technology’s flagship products won awards: the CPad Business Tablet, CPad PAY, FLEX 3 Interactive Display, the V3 handheld POS Terminal and L3 Industrial PDA. These products stood out with three core design concepts: integration, versatility and human-centricity.

Known as “The Oscars” of global industrial design, the Red Dot Award has strict evaluation criteria covering aesthetics, ergonomics, scenario adaptability and sustainability. SUNMI adheres to original commercial scenario customization, rejecting crudely modified consumer devices. All winning products are originally developed for real commercial scenarios such as cash register, food delivery, industrial inspection and store operations, covering the entire commercial track with high scenario adaptability. Meanwhile, it practices ESG concepts, adopting eco-friendly materials and modular structures to extend equipment service life, reduce consumable consumption, and implement low-carbon and long-term design, which perfectly meets the Red Dot’s sustainability evaluation criteria.

Simplify Complexity: With highly integrated design, SUNMI eliminates the “patchwork feeling” of cluttered devices and tangled cables in traditional commercial scenarios, streamlining store operations and saving space.All-in-One Versatility: Beyond a single tool function, SUNMI’s products achieve flexible transformation through modular and multi-form designs to proactively adapt to changing business needs. The CPad series with modular accessories and FLEX 3’s Lego-style modular design enable multi-scenario application and long-term reuse.Human-Centric Design: Every detail is human-oriented, focusing on real pain points to enhance scenario experience. The L3 Industrial PDA reduces high-frequency work fatigue through scientific weight distribution; the V3 Smart POS Terminal balances large-screen visibility and grip comfort; CPad PAY integrates full-link functions to simplify workflows.

These honors stem from SUNMI’s long-term commitment to a sustainable society, original commercial R&D and ESG. In the future, SUNMI will uphold its core concepts, expand the boundaries of commercial industrial design, and empower global businesses with user-oriented, eco-friendly and high-value products.

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