Bitget has launched the Bitget Open Custody Network, an open-access framework that lets eligible institutional clients trade the exchange's spot, spot margin, and futures markets while leaving their assets in the hands of third-party custodians of their own choosing.

The company summarized the initiative's core principle as: "Your custody, your assets, your choice. Bitget brings the market." Through the network, institutions can tap Bitget's trading, liquidity, and account infrastructure while maintaining their preferred custody arrangements—a structure aimed at firms that want to separate custody from execution, preserve existing custodial relationships, or align their setup with internal compliance and operational requirements.

A Familiar Traditional-Finance Model Comes to Digital Assets

In traditional financial markets, trade execution and asset custody have long been delivered by different types of service providers. Institutions decide who safeguards their assets, where they, and how settlement is completed, based on compliance policies, risk appetite, operating models, and asset-management requirements.

As digital asset markets mature, institutions are seeking comparable infrastructure. A survey of 351 institutions conducted by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon found that 46% of respondents identified improved institutional-grade infrastructure as a key driver of increased crypto allocations. Custody, settlement, and risk controls have become central considerations for firms looking to deepen their participation in digital assets.

For trading venues, liquidity and product access alone are no longer sufficient. Attracting diverse pools of institutional capital also requires compatibility with clients' existing custody relationships and operating frameworks. The Bitget Open Custody Network is the company's response: an open framework serving institutional clients, custody partners, and asset partners.

Why Institutions Are Reassessing Custody and Execution

Demand for separated custody and execution models is being driven by several considerations. Venue counterparty risk moved to the center of institutional due diligence after the November 2022 collapse of the FTX exchange, which halted customer withdrawals and left client assets entangled in bankruptcy proceedings. Since then, off-exchange settlement structures—in which collateral sits with an independent custodian rather than on the venue—have figured prominently in how institutions approach market access.

1. Demand to Keep Custody Independent From the Trading Venue

Some institutions prefer not to hold all trading assets directly on a single trading venue. Instead, they keep collateral with an independent custodian and participate in trading through credit, delegation, or settlement arrangements.

This structure does not eliminate trading, market, custody, or settlement risk. It can, however, allow institutions to make more tailored decisions about how assets are held, how counterparty exposure is managed, and how often settlement takes place.

2. Established Custody and Approval Workflows

Many hedge funds, asset managers, market makers, and corporate treasury teams have already built wallet permissions, approval processes, operational controls, and compliance frameworks around providers such as Copper, Fireblocks, or regulated bank custodians. For these firms, the goal is rarely to replace existing infrastructure. It is to reach new sources of trading liquidity while retaining established custody and operational workflows.

3. Divergent Settlement and Collateral Needs

Trading strategies, capital turnover, and risk-management frameworks vary widely across institutions. High-frequency market makers and quantitative firms tend to prioritize collateral efficiency across venues and more frequent settlement, while asset managers and family offices may favor regulated custody, bank-grade safeguarding, or service availability in specific jurisdictions. No single custody or settlement model fits every institution—an open partner network lets clients select the route that best matches their circumstances.

What the Bitget Open Custody Network Includes

The Bitget Open Custody Network extends Bitget's institutional infrastructure by connecting clients' chosen custody and asset partners to its trading and liquidity ecosystem. Institutions can apply for access to spot, spot margin, and futures trading without fully restructuring existing asset arrangements. Available products and services depend on the selected custody solution, client eligibility, and final agreements. For firms whose internal policies restrict holding assets directly on a trading venue, the structure offers a way to reach Bitget's markets without relocating collateral.

The network currently includes the following partners and solutions:

• Copper ClearLoop
• Fireblocks Off Exchange
• Cactus Custody Oasis
• Bitfire PrimeMirror
• OSL MirrorEX
• Sygnum Protect

Copper, Fireblocks, Cactus Custody, Bitfire, and OSL provide third-party custody and Off-Exchange Settlement (OES) routes for Bitget. Sygnum Protect has completed onboarding as a network partner and offers a custody, pledge, and lending structure for institutions that require bank-grade custody.

How Off-Exchange Settlement Works

Off-Exchange Settlement (OES) is an institutional service model in which eligible client collateral remains with a third-party custodian or within a designated account structure, while the client receives corresponding trading credit and settles profit and loss according to agreed rules.

In a typical OES model:

1. The client holds eligible assets with a third-party custodian or in a designated collateral account.
2. Bitget provides corresponding trading credit, subject to the selected custody model and client onboarding requirements.
3. The client trades on Bitget.
4. Profit and loss are settled on-chain or off-chain between Bitget and the custodian's account structure under a predefined settlement mechanism.

Comparing the Partner Solutions

*Supported trading, eligible assets, credit arrangements, account functionality, and service availability depend on client eligibility, jurisdiction, risk assessment, and final agreements.

Multi-Venue Trading via Copper ClearLoop

Copper ClearLoop is designed for institutions seeking to connect to multiple trading venues through a single custody relationship. Its off-chain settlement model and configurable four-hour settlement schedule can suit market makers, quantitative trading teams, and active institutional clients that prioritize collateral efficiency, cross-venue operations, and trading continuity.

Retaining Fireblocks Wallet and Approval Workflows

Fireblocks Off Exchange targets institutions that already use Fireblocks infrastructure. Clients manage collateral through a dedicated Collateral Vault Account while keeping their existing MPC setup, wallet policies, and approval workflows.

This route uses on-chain net settlement, with gas fees borne by the client. For loss settlement, clients generally have a two-hour signing window. If the client does not sign within that period, Bitget's Collateral Signer may co-sign. If a client rejects a settlement, the process may enter a dispute window.

Off-Chain Settlement Within a Custody Structure

Cactus Custody Oasis and Bitfire PrimeMirror both provide off-chain settlement routes within respective custody-account structures, making them relevant for institutions seeking to reduce on-chain operational requirements during settlement. The key difference is settlement timing: Cactus Custody Oasis settles every eight hours, while Bitfire PrimeMirror settles daily at 10:00 UTC+8.

Cactus Custody Oasis may be better suited to institutions trading more actively and seeking more frequent settlement, while Bitfire PrimeMirror may fit firms operating on an end-of-day management cycle.

Regulated Custody With Eligible Profit Withdrawals

OSL MirrorEX is designed for institutions that value Hong Kong's regulated digital asset custody framework. Its settlement model has a distinctive feature: settlement is triggered immediately when losses reach or exceed 15% of total custodial assets. Subject to applicable requirements and controls, eligible profits may be withdrawn from the Bitget account.

This is not the same as periodic settlement. Institutions should independently assess whether a loss-triggered settlement model aligns with their position management, risk budget, collateral buffers, and liquidity-management requirements.

Bank-Grade Custody via Sygnum Protect

Sygnum Protect is intended for institutions with specific requirements for bank custody, regulated financial-institution service standards, or a traditional financial-services operating framework. Its structure differs from conventional OES: assets are held in a Sygnum Protect Portfolio and support trading through a pledge-and-loan mechanism.

Sygnum is a FINMA-supervised digital asset bank with a Swiss banking licence. Trading scope, asset-specific LTVs, fees, account structure, and risk parameters should be confirmed during client onboarding. Because collateral changes and top-ups may involve manual processes, institutions should plan adequate collateral buffers and liquidity in advance.

What Institutions Should Know Before Connecting

Master and Sub-Account Structure

Across most live OES routes, the Bitget master account is typically linked to the custody arrangement. Sub-accounts may trade in accordance with applicable rules, with profit and loss aggregated and settled at the master-account level. Sub-accounts generally cannot independently bind, delegate, or undelegate custody assets.

Institutions managing multiple strategies, teams, or account-permission structures should confirm master-account, sub-account, trading-permission, and settlement-aggregation arrangements with the Bitget Institutional team before onboarding.

Deposit and Withdrawal Rules

Under certain custody models, standard on-chain deposits and withdrawals through the Bitget account may be or disabled once custody mode is activated, helping maintain consistency across collateral, credit, and settlement workflows. Requirements differ by solution. OSL is an exception among the live routes: deposits are supported, and eligible profits may be withdrawn, subject to applicable controls.

Credit and Collateral Are Not Always Fixed at 1:1

Copper, Cactus Custody, Bitfire, and OSL offer 1:1 trading credit against eligible delegated balances. Fireblocks credit is determined during onboarding and may be below 1:1. Sygnum Protect uses an asset-specific LTV-based custody, pledge, and lending structure rather than a conventional mirrored-credit model.

During onboarding, institutions should confirm:

• Eligible collateral assets;
• Asset haircuts or credit ratios;
• Risk thresholds and collateral top-up requirements;
• Settlement frequency and process;
• Applicable fees, gas fees, and financing costs; and
• Regional restrictions and account permissions.

Custody Choice, Market Access

Bitget positions the Open Custody Network not as a single mandated custody model but as a set of viable routes to market. Whether an institution prioritizes multi-venue collateral efficiency, existing wallet workflows, off-chain settlement, Hong Kong-regulated custody, or bank-grade asset custody, the exchange aims to connect the custody infrastructure clients choose with Bitget's trading and liquidity capabilities. The parameters that separate these routes in practice—settlement cadence, credit treatment relative to delegated balances, and jurisdictional coverage—are among the items institutions confirm during onboarding.

Institutions can contact their dedicated Bitget Institutional representative to learn more about eligibility, supported assets, account structures, and suitable solutions.