BitMEX announced a partnership with institutional custodian Zodia Custody that lets traders execute derivatives without moving collateral onto the exchange. The integration uses Zodia’s Interchange off-venue settlement solution and is available immediately to qualifying clients.
BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz said the move reflects lessons from recent market failures, citing the FTX collapse and the Bybit breach as examples of the risks posed by exchange-held or unsegregated funds. “Cases like the FTX collapse and the Bybit hack are examples of how custody failures or security threats can put client funds at risk,” Lutz said.
Under the integration, institutional and professional customers of BitMEX can trade perpetual swaps and futures while keeping their collateral in Zodia’s segregated vault. Collateral is mirrored for execution on BitMEX, so traders retain control of assets while accessing exchange liquidity and execution. The setup supports cross-collateral usage of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether USDt (USDT) and USDC, and is intended to boost capital efficiency by removing the need to transfer assets between custody and exchange accounts. BitMEX says the arrangement also reduces operational risks tied to traditional pre-funding workflows.
Zodia Custody, launched in 2021 with backing from Standard Chartered, is a global institutional digital-asset custodian. The firm secured Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) authorization in Luxembourg in late 2025, a step that enables regulated custody services across the European Union.
Lutz emphasized that custody has long been fundamental to traditional finance and is becoming increasingly important for crypto as institutions trade digital assets. “Custody is a core part of traditional finance markets, and recent cases like FTX and Bybit are clear examples of why it’s even more important in crypto,” he said. “As the industry matures, institutions are trading digital assets like any other asset — and should have access to the same services as they do in traditional markets.”
Additional reporting by Felix Ng.
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