Bitget has launched its Open Custody Network (OCN), allowing eligible users to trade cryptocurrencies across its spot, margin, and futures markets while keeping their underlying assets with i
Bitget has launched its Open Custody Network (OCN), allowing eligible users to trade cryptocurrencies across its spot, margin, and futures markets while keeping their underlying assets with independent banks and institutional custodians.
SummaryAccording to the company’s November 5 announcement, the new network connects external custody providers directly with Bitget’s trading infrastructure through an asset mirroring system that allows traders to access exchange liquidity without transferring their holdings into the platform’s custody.
The service is designed for market makers, asset managers, and other institutional participants that want to maintain their existing custody arrangements while using their assets for trading. Bitget said the network would give eligible users more flexibility over where their funds are held and how they are deployed across different trading strategies.
The launch builds on Bitget’s existing institutional custody infrastructure, which already supports several third-party providers and settlement arrangements. It comes as banks and cryptocurrency trading firms continue developing services that separate the safekeeping of digital assets from the platforms where transactions are executed.
The Open Custody Network uses asset mirroring to connect balances held by participating custodians with trading accounts on Bitget, allowing eligible users to access supported markets while their underlying collateral remains outside the exchange.
In a conventional centralized exchange arrangement, customers generally deposit cryptocurrencies into wallets controlled by the trading platform before they can place orders. Bitget’s new structure allows participating institutions to maintain custody relationships with external providers while accessing the exchange’s trading infrastructure.
The company said the network supports spot, margin, and futures trading, although the products available to individual customers depend on their selected custody provider and the applicable settlement arrangement.
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Bitget had already detailed several institutional custody partnerships in an October 13 operational announcement, including Copper ClearLoop, Cactus Custody Oasis, Fireblocks Off Exchange, OSL MirrorEX, Bitfire PrimeMirror, and Sygnum Protect.
The arrangements operate through different settlement models, with some providers allowing clients to trade against mirrored collateral balances while others use custody-backed financing structures.
For example, Copper ClearLoop allows eligible assets held within Copper’s custody framework to support trading credit on Bitget. The service provides access to multiple trading venues through an existing custody relationship.
Copper has been expanding its institutional services independently, including its entry into the US market in August after its American subsidiary became an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member.
Other providers within Bitget’s network use different settlement schedules and collateral arrangements.
Cactus Custody Oasis supports spot, spot margin, and futures trading with settlement every eight hours through off-chain transfers between custody accounts. Bitfire PrimeMirror offers daily settlement at 10:00 UTC+8, while OSL MirrorEX uses a loss-based settlement mechanism.
Under OSL’s arrangement, settlement is triggered when trading losses reach at least 15% of the total custodial assets. Sygnum Protect operates differently, allowing customers to pledge assets held with the Swiss bank to obtain financing for eligible trading activities.
Bitget said its network is intended to help institutions manage the concentration of assets held with trading platforms while maintaining access to liquidity and different trading strategies.
Market makers and asset managers often need collateral available for trading across multiple markets. Through participating custody providers, eligible firms can maintain their established asset management and approval processes while connecting their holdings to Bitget’s execution services.
Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, said the company wants to challenge the assumption that customers must deposit their assets directly with an exchange to access its trading products.
“We challenge the assumption that users must place their assets in an exchange’s custody to access its trading capabilities,” Chen said.
She described the company’s approach as “Assets in Bank, Tradings on Bitget,” adding that the service would give users access to liquidity and capital efficiency while maintaining their choice of custodian.
The announcement follows a period of heightened attention to exchange custody arrangements after Bitget suffered a security breach in September.
As crypto.news previously reported, the exchange restored major cryptocurrency withdrawals after a $387.5 million breach involving its hot and warm wallet infrastructure. Bitget said customer account balances remained unchanged and that its protection fund would cover the losses.
The company subsequently continued publishing its reserve disclosures, with its October 30 report showing an overall reserve ratio of 115% across covered customer assets.
Traditional financial institutions have been developing their own cryptocurrency custody services as demand grows for arrangements that can operate alongside existing banking and investment infrastructure.
In August, Citigroup announced its Custody+ platform and outlined plans to introduce institutional Bitcoin custody services before the end of 2026.
The initiative is intended to bring digital assets into a custody framework that already supports traditional securities, giving institutional customers access to both categories through the bank’s existing servicing infrastructure.
Bitget’s October custody documentation identified Sygnum Bank as one of its institutional partners, with its Protect service supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, US dollars, and US Treasury bonds as eligible assets or collateral.
Under that arrangement, customers hold assets in a Sygnum Protect Portfolio and pledge them to Bitget for financing. Requests are handled through the customer’s Sygnum relationship manager and may take approximately one business day to process.
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