Bitget launches Open Custody Network for institutional traders
Bitget announced its Open Custody Network on 5 November 2026. It lets eligible users trade while assets stay with external custodians, and builds on partnerships detailed on 13 October.
Bitget announced the Open Custody Network (OCN) on 5 November 2026. It lets eligible users trade across the exchange's spot, margin and futures markets while their assets stay with independent banks and institutional custodians, according to crypto.news. The network builds on custody partnerships Bitget detailed on 13 October, according to crypto.news. Financex Magazine describes it as a consolidation of an established category.
How asset mirroring works
OCN works through what crypto.news describes as "asset mirroring." Balances held by participating custodians are linked to trading accounts on Bitget. Users can then reach supported markets while their underlying collateral remains outside the exchange, crypto.news reports. The Paypers and CoinGape report that Bitget uses the tagline "Assets in Bank, Tradings on Bitget."
Partners and settlement
Crypto.news reports that Bitget's 13 October operational announcement listed six partners: Copper ClearLoop, Cactus Custody Oasis, Fireblocks Off Exchange, OSL MirrorEX, Bitfire PrimeMirror and Sygnum Protect. The sources do not confirm whether all six are formal OCN members at launch.
Settlement differs by provider:
- Copper ClearLoop lets eligible assets in Copper's custody framework support trading credit on Bitget, with access to multiple venues through one custody relationship.
- Cactus Custody Oasis settles every eight hours through off-chain transfers between custody accounts.
- Bitfire PrimeMirror settles daily at 10:00 UTC+8.
- OSL MirrorEX triggers settlement when trading losses reach at least 15% of total custodial assets.
- Sygnum Protect lets customers pledge assets held at the Swiss bank to obtain financing for eligible trading.
Product access is not uniform. What a customer can trade depends on the chosen custody provider and the applicable settlement arrangement.
Who it is for
The service targets market makers, asset managers and other institutions that want to keep existing custody arrangements while using their assets for trading. It is also described as a way to manage custody concentration risk. Asset Servicing Times reports that Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said clients do not need to place assets in an exchange's custody to access its trading capabilities. The report adds that OCN is subject to eligibility requirements.
The reports reviewed do not disclose eligibility criteria, fees, supported assets, jurisdictions or any volume figures.
How new is it?
The model predates the branding. Financex Magazine says Bitget first joined Copper's ClearLoop network in 2023, an arrangement Financex says Bitget has run for more than two years. It describes OCN as consolidating an established category into one branded network and adding bank-grade custody through Sygnum.
The "banks" framing is also broader than the evidence. Among the providers named, only Sygnum is described in the sources as a bank. The sources do not characterise the other providers' regulatory status.
Off-exchange custody reduces direct exchange custody of client assets. The sources do not say how much counterparty or settlement exposure to Bitget users retain. Periodic settlement and loss triggers suggest some exposure may exist in certain setups, but this is the author's inference.
Financex describes the announcement as coming in mid-October, which may refer to the 13 October partner announcement. Crypto.news, PANews and TechFlow date the OCN announcement to 5 November. PANews and TechFlow use "will launch" wording, so it is unclear whether the network is live for all eligible users.