Bybit Institutional Loans: Leveraged liquidity for institutional traders

Modern institutional crypto trading requires high levels of capital efficiency. Being able to easily and flexibly borrow funds to carry out large-scale trades is among the most critical drivers of such efficiency. That’s why Bybit offers its Institutional Loans product, a flexible and generous borrowing framework linked to users’ Unified Trading Accounts (UTAs), to business entities.

With high borrowing limits, unified liquidity under the UTA, leverage of up to 5x and the recently expanded list of borrowable cryptocurrencies, Institutional Loans are an optimal product for specialized hedge funds, quantitative trading (quant) firms and other users who are serious about active, large-scale crypto trading.

Key Takeaways:

• Bybit Institutional Loans are a borrowing product designed for institutional traders pursuing large-scale, active crypto trading strategies.

• Institutional Loans offer eligible users significant borrowing amounts, with a minimum of 1 million USDT, leverage of up to 5x, a choice of 23 borrowable cryptocurrencies and the flexibility to use the capital across a diverse range of Bybit’s Spot and Derivatives products.

• To apply for Institutional Loans, interested parties are encouraged to contact Bybit's Institutional Representatives or email the exchange's Institutional Services.

What are Bybit Institutional Loans?

Bybit Institutional Loans are a borrowing solution tailored for institutional traders. The product offers high borrowing amounts, unified collateralization via users' UTAs, leverage of up to 5x and a wide choice of borrowable assets. The minimum borrowing amount for an Institutional Loan is the equivalent of 1 million Tether (USDT).

In the past, these loans had only two eligible borrowable assets — USDT and USDC (USDC). However, recognizing the growing diversity of crypto trading strategies employed by Institutional market players, Bybit has significantly expanded the list of borrowable cryptos. As of late February 2026, eligible users can choose from 23 assets to borrow. Besides USDT and USDC, these include market leaders like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), other high-cap coins like Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA), and even popular meme coins like Pepe (PEPE) and Pump (PUMP).

Normally, leverage ratios of up to 5x are available for Institutional Loans. Holding Mantle (MNT) as collateral may qualify eligible users for even higher leverages of up to 8x.

How it works: Collateral, Risk Units and LTV

Bybit Institutional Loans utilize a Risk Unit structure to consolidate multiple account UIDs into a single collateral pool. This framework allows collateral to stay within the user’s UTA for active trading, ensuring that capital remains productive. As long as the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio limits are respected, users can execute complex multi-account strategies using the same credit line.

Risk is calculated at the Risk Unit level, meaning that the total equity of all grouped UIDs supports the debt. The LTV is determined by the formula below:

LTV = (Outstanding loan principal + outstanding loan interest)/total assets 

This enables unified margin management across different Subaccounts and trading teams, while maintaining a single debt profile for the institution.

Operational restrictions are triggered automatically, based on specific LTV thresholds: 

• At 80%, the system blocks the transfer of collateral assets out of the Risk Unit. 

• At 85%, trading is restricted for any orders that increase costs, such as opening new positions. 

• Reaching the 90% threshold may trigger the liquidation process in order to secure the outstanding principal and interest.

Liquidation and risk controls

Liquidation is triggered when the LTV ratio reaches or exceeds 90%, initiating a repayment protocol. The system immediately cancels all active Spot, USDT and USDC Derivatives orders to freeze the account's margin state. If existing transferable assets are insufficient to reduce the LTV below 85%, the platform performs forced asset conversion. This process incurs a 2% conversion fee and a 2% settlement fee.

During this procedure, the system monitors the initial margin rate (IMR) and the maintenance margin rate (MMR). If the IMR or MMR reaches 100%, the system will transfer equity out of the UTA for repayment, which may result in a negative wallet balance. In extreme shortfall scenarios, reserve funds are deployed to cover the debt. Because this process bypasses standard staggered liquidation, disciplined risk monitoring is essential in order to avoid these automated interventions.

Supported trading and repayment structure

Institutional Loans can be used to borrow assets for the following trading activities on Bybit:

• All Spot trading pairs, including leveraged tokens

• USDT Perpetual contracts

• USDC Perpetuals, Futures and Options

• Over-the-counter (OTC) trading

For leveraged trading, all three margin management modes — Isolated, Cross and Portfolio — are supported.

Repayment terms are agreed to contractually between Bybit and the user institution offline, and are documented in the contract. Repayments are processed within the UTA of the specified Risk Unit UID. Early repayments are allowed for this product.

Whom Bybit Institutional Loans are for — and how to apply

Bybit Institutional Loans are designed for Institutional entities interested in active, large-scale and/or high-volume cryptocurrency trading, such as the following: 

• Professional trading firms

• High-frequency quant funds

• Large-scale market makers who require sufficient leverage and integrated risk unit management to maximize capital efficiency across multiple sub-accounts

Please note that these loans aren’t generally suitable for retail or business users, whose typical trading capital requirements aren’t measured in millions of USDT. 

To apply for Institutional Loans, interested parties can send an email to institutional_services@bybit.com or contact Bybit’s Institutional Representatives.

Closing thoughts

Bybit Institutional Loans offer outstanding levels of capital efficiency and flexibility for businesses engaged in active, large-scale crypto trading. Thanks to this product, eligible Institutional players can substantially boost their capital availability, including for leveraged trades. 

One great advantage of these loans is their structurally managed risk via Risk Units and relevant LTV safety thresholds. Institutions experienced in cryptocurrency trading with active risk oversight will undoubtedly appreciate the unique nature of this product. Additionally, repayment terms are highly flexible, with contractually agreed conditions and the ability to repay early.

If you represent an institution that may benefit from a highly flexible borrowing solution with well-designed risk controls and repayment terms, get in touch with a Bybit Institutional Representative or send an email to the Institutional Services division to get started.

#LearnWithBybit