BitGo has expanded its institutional over-the-counter (OTC) platform to add bilateral derivatives trading, integrated lending, and instant settlement that connects directly to its custody infrastructure. The upgrade bundles spot trading, derivatives exposure, and credit tools inside a custody-led framework built for institutional hedging, yield, and leverage use cases.
The expansion is aimed at hedge funds, corporate treasuries, miners, and lending desks that want custody-linked execution and less prefunding risk when trading with a regulated counterparty. The core pitch is operational efficiency: keep assets in custody longer while still enabling active trading and financing workflows.
Derivatives and lending inside the custody perimeter
The platform now supports OTC bilateral options, futures, and perpetual contracts, alongside lending facilities that can provide margin or put idle USD/stablecoins and crypto to work as collateral. Trades execute bilaterally with a BitGo trading entity while client assets remain in BitGo’s qualified custody until settlement, supported by a stated $250 million insurance layer.
Execution is built around institutional order types and algorithmic workflows, including risk bid/offer, limit/stop, TWAP, VWAP, and pegged orders designed to manage spreads and reduce market impact. The feature set is positioned to help large desks control execution quality while operating in an OTC structure.
BitGo also described capital-efficiency mechanics intended to reduce prefunding: lending lines can be used for margin, and the Go Network is used to enable on-demand, near-instant settlements between custody and trading legs. The architecture is designed to preserve a qualified custody boundary while improving settlement speed and freeing capital for derivatives and yield strategies.
BitGo Holdings announces launch of initial public offering.https://t.co/f1vM5vl1II
— BitGo (@BitGo) January 12, 2026
Regulatory scaffolding and go-to-market execution
The derivatives rollout was framed around recent regulatory milestones, including BitGo’s conversion of its trust company into a federally chartered national trust bank in December 2025. It also cited a VARA broker-dealer licence issued in October 2025 and indicated MiCA-compliant approval in Germany as part of the operating foundation for institutional activity.
To support the expansion, BitGo added a dedicated derivatives trading desk led by Tim Kan, formerly Head of Sales Trading at QCP Capital. Kan described the platform as prioritizing “security, reliability and disciplined execution,” emphasizing custody-linked risk controls and bespoke structuring capabilities.
The rollout also referenced strategic partners and integrations, including HTX and VivoPower, plus connectivity work with Lightning provider Voltage and the Injective network. BitGo presented these relationships as levers to improve liquidity access, connectivity, and settlement efficiency across spot and derivatives.
The key validation point will be whether custody-tied derivatives and lending meaningfully reduce counterparty and prefunding risk in live conditions. Investors and counterparties will be watching settlement latency via the Go Network, capital efficiency for large hedges, and whether trade flow and liquidity depth confirm real institutional adoption.
