Bybit taps Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Custody following Safe Wallet controversy

Bybit has entered a partnership with crypto custodian Zodia Custody to segregate its custody for institutional clients.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced in a press release on Thursday a new partnership with Zodia Custody to provide institutional clients with segregated custody, along with off-venue settlement solutions.

In an April 3 press release, Bybit said that thanks to the partnership, its institutional arm, Bybit Institutional, which targets larger investors, wants to provide transparent fees and reduce the risk of exposure for its clients.

Zodia Custody, founded in 2020, offers crypto custody services and is supported by big names like Standard Chartered and SBI Holdings. The key benefit of the latest partnership, as Bybit puts it, is “Independent Custody,” where investors can trade on Bybit while keeping assets held with Zodia Custody, ensuring “full segregation and eliminating co-mingling via the Interchange solution.”

This allows institutional clients to trade on Bybit while keeping assets held with Zodia Custody, ensuring “full segregation and eliminating co-mingling via the Interchange solution,” the press release reads. Additionally, Bybit also claims that thanks to Zodia, institutitonal clients no longer need to pre-fund exchange accounts, which “minimizing exposure to exchange-side vulnerabilities and improving capital efficiency.”

In late February, North Korean hackers targeted Bybit, stealing around $1.46 billion worth of crypto in a highly sophisticated heist. The attack was reportedly carried out by compromising the computer of an employee at Safe, Bybit’s technology provider. Less than two weeks after the breach, Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou stated that around 20% of the stolen funds had become untraceable, due to the hackers’ use of mixing services. Later on, Zhou indicated that 88% of the stolen funds from the exchange is still traceable