Bitget Joins Sygnum's Bank-Grade Custody Platform
Bitget, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges by derivatives volume, has joined Protect, an off-exchange collateral custody platform operated by Sygnum Bank. This move allows Bitget's institutional investors to trade spot and derivatives without depositing funds with the exchange, keeping collateral in Sygnum's Swiss-regulated accounts instead.
Protect, launched in April 2024, is a framework that decouples collateral from exchange balance sheets and executes trades while assets remain in bank custody. With Bitget's participation, the combined trading volume of exchanges on Protect now accounts for more than half of global spot and derivatives volume, according to Sygnum.
The ability to select yield-bearing assets is a key differentiator from non-bank platforms, with assets under custody surpassing $1 billion (approximately ¥160 billion) in 2025, up 900% year-over-year. This makes Protect the largest bank-operated platform of its kind, noted Thomas Eichenberger, Deputy Group CEO of Sygnum Bank.
Bitget serves over 125 million users across more than 150 countries, but is moving in the opposite direction in Japan. The company announced on August 3 the termination of services for Japan residents due to escalating regulatory pressure, including warnings from Japan's Financial Services Agency and requests to remove overseas exchange apps from domestic app stores.