Crypto exchange BitMEX said it has signed a new partnership with Zodia Custody as a custody partner to enable asset segregation and trading with off-exchange assets.
The partnership, announced on Tuesday, gives traders a safer way to access derivatives markets. Under the arrangement, users can trade while keeping their funds stored separately in secure custody, rather than leaving them directly on the exchange.
The new feature will be available through Zodia’s Interchange system, allowing trades to be settled without requiring assets to move onto the trading platform itself.
Stephan Lutz, CEO of BitMEX, commented on the alliance, saying that the move is indicative of the lessons that have been learned in the past, especially in relation to failures such as those experienced by FTX and the recent hack at Bybit.
Lutz explained that such failures showed how fast customer assets could be compromised due to poor custody or security practices.
What does the partnership include?
According to the official press release, BitMEX will offer institutional and professional traders an opportunity to trade derivatives without withdrawing any crypto from the wallet to the exchange.
Rather than transferring money to the trading account, the client will have the possibility to keep the assets safe in vaults of Zodia Custody.
Thereafter, BitMEX creates a mirror copy of the assets that can be used on the exchange for trades. In other words, there is no need for withdrawing cryptocurrencies because traders can use them for transactions through BitMEX products such as perpetual swaps and futures.
Moreover, users will be able to use various assets as collateral to make trades, including BTC, ETH, USDT, and USDC.
Typically, traders had to keep transferring money from custody wallets to the exchange, and vice versa, which required additional time and effort.
The new system saves traders’ money and makes the transactions more efficient. Additionally, the new agreement ensures the safety of customers’ assets during transfers because traders will be able to make trades using mirrored copies rather than transferring crypto from one wallet to another.
Therefore, it is likely that the deal will bring numerous benefits not only to customers but also to BitMEX itself.
Safer custody meets faster derivatives trading
The entire alliance was developed to achieve both safe crypto storage and easy access to fast derivatives trading, trying to solve one of the biggest existing problems within the institution-based crypto market.
Zodia Custody is an institution-based custody provider for cryptocurrencies established in 2021, which was created to provide financial organizations and other big players with a safe way to store their crypto. This company currently operates worldwide.
Towards the end of 2025, Zodia Custody was granted regulatory permission by the European Union under the MiCA legislation in Luxembourg to operate as a full-fledged crypto custody provider throughout all of Europe. Such approval is considered crucial for improving regulation and building confidence in the crypto world, especially concerning institutional investors.
Commenting on the partnership, CEO of BitMEX Stephan Lutz noted that custody has always been one of the main pillars of traditional banking, and its importance has only grown recently due to several industry shocks.
He highlighted some key events such as the FTX debacle and the Bybit hacking, and explained how fast things could escalate in case there was no effective storage and safeguarding of assets.
According to Lutz, the crypto world has started entering a more mature stage, where institutions will have the same demands for their investments in crypto as they have for other investments.
These include proper custody, regulation, and infrastructure. This cooperation between BitMEX and Zodia will satisfy these demands because the platform will be able to provide separation of asset management from trading and also have quick access to it.