Key Highlights
- Bitget has partnered with Sygnum Bank’s off-exchange custody solution named Protect.
- Trading platforms utilizing Protect now represent over 50% of worldwide spot and derivatives volume.
- Assets under Protect’s custody surged by more than 900% throughout 2025, surpassing the $1 billion threshold.
- Client collateral stored with Sygnum remains in Swiss-regulated bank accounts, isolated from Bitget’s corporate balance sheet.
- The exchange is withdrawing operations from Japan following regulatory concerns from local authorities.
Bitget has partnered with Sygnum’s off-exchange custody solution, called Protect. This integration enables institutional market participants to store their trading collateral with a Switzerland-based regulated bank rather than directly with the exchange platform.
Sygnum operates as a licensed digital asset bank headquartered in Switzerland. Its Protect offering is a specialized custody infrastructure designed to hold customer assets independently from exchange platforms.
Following Bitget’s integration, the exchanges utilizing Protect now collectively process more than half of worldwide spot and derivatives trading activity. This represents a substantial portion of the cryptocurrency trading landscape.
Through this arrangement, institutional participants can execute trades on Bitget’s platform while their capital remains secured in Sygnum’s custodial infrastructure. Bitget operates with a mirrored balance that enables trading functionality.
The Mechanics of Off-Exchange Collateral Storage
Client assets stored with Sygnum are ring-fenced according to Swiss banking regulations. This legal structure ensures complete separation from Bitget’s corporate financial position.
Should Bitget encounter any operational or financial difficulties, client funds maintained with Sygnum would remain protected and inaccessible to creditors. This structure is referred to as “bankruptcy-remote” custody.
Sygnum’s platform supports multiple collateral types. Accepted assets include bitcoin, ethereum, stablecoin tokens, and United States Treasury securities.
Treasury holdings can generate interest returns for clients while remaining in secure custody. According to Sygnum, this yield-generating capability distinguishes its service from non-bank custody alternatives.
The Protect platform became operational in April 2024. Throughout 2025, assets on the platform experienced explosive growth exceeding 900%, with total custody value climbing past the $1 billion milestone.
According to Sygnum, this positions Protect as the leading bank-operated custody infrastructure for cryptocurrency trading. Additional exchanges currently integrated with Protect include Binance, Deribit, and Bybit.
Thomas Eichenberger, deputy group chief executive at Sygnum Bank, noted that off-exchange custody solutions have evolved into essential infrastructure within the institutional cryptocurrency trading ecosystem.
Gracy Chen, chief executive officer of Bitget, commented that major trading platforms are progressively implementing bank-quality custody arrangements. She indicated this has become the baseline expectation among institutional market participants.
Bitget provides services to an international user base exceeding 125 million people distributed across more than 150 nations. The platform ranks among the largest exchanges measured by derivatives trading activity.
Japanese Market Withdrawal
Despite expanding its custody infrastructure, Bitget is simultaneously retreating from the Japanese marketplace. The company disclosed in August its intention to cease all services for Japan-based users.
Account creation from Japanese IP addresses was immediately suspended following the announcement. Current account holders will face progressive restrictions beginning November 1.
The exchange has scheduled forced liquidation of all outstanding positions maintained by Japanese customers by December 31. This withdrawal follows official warnings issued by Japan’s Financial Services Agency.
Regulatory authorities in Japan raised objections regarding unauthorized operations. Officials additionally requested domestic app distribution platforms to block access to certain international exchange applications.
Bitget is not pioneering this custody approach. Several prominent exchanges have implemented comparable frameworks in recent years to legally separate customer assets from exchange-controlled funds.
The migration toward off-exchange custody has occurred progressively. Initially, this model served primarily as a solution for risk-averse institutional trading operations.
The practice has since matured into standard infrastructure across major exchange platforms. The rapid expansion of Protect during the previous two years demonstrates this industry-wide transition.
Bitget’s inclusion in the Protect ecosystem elevates the platform’s coverage to exceed 50% of global trading volume. This establishes it as one of the most extensively deployed custody frameworks in the cryptocurrency sector.
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