What you need to know:
- KuCoin Institutional now allows customers to trade while their assets are safely stored in Cactus Custody.
- Off-exchange settlement enables 4-hour automatic trade settlement and improves capital utilization.
- This partnership strengthens trust, compliance and transaction flexibility for institutions.
KuCoin Institutional and Cactus Custody have officially begun their integration, allowing institutional investors and eligible customers to trade in KuCoin while keeping their assets securely in a regulated custodian.
What is possible with the integration of KuCoin and Cactus partnership?
A new setup known as the “Off-Exchange Settlement (OES)” framework allows clients to take advantage of smarter trading methods. Assets are held in Cactus Custody in an isolated environment until the order is executed. This means there is no need to transfer funds to an exchange before trading. Payments occur automatically every four hours, increasing speed and reducing risk. Clients can access KuCoin Institutional’s full suite of spot, margin, options, and perpetual futures while maintaining custody protection features such as multi-signature wallets, cold storage, and ISO-certified controls through Cactus Custody. Additional benefits include free API colocation services (for eligible clients) and a trial period labeled “60-day VIP 12” for new users.
why is it important
For institutional investors (funds, trading desks, and high-net-worth investors), this integration offers three major benefits. First, it improves security. Holding assets with a regulated professional custodian, rather than relying purely on exchange wallets, reduces counterparty risk. The second is greater flexibility and capital efficiency. There is no need to leave your funds on an exchange, allowing you to utilize your capital more efficiently. Thirdly, we will strengthen trading access. You still get all the liquidity, trading options, and infrastructure that KuCoin offers, just with a layer of custody.
Cactus Custody general manager Wendy Jiang said the partnership aims to “promote security standards and digital asset management… expand access to trading venues for institutional clients and further strengthen client trust.” Tika Lam, KuCoin’s head of global business, added that the move is “a critical step in building a more secure and efficient digital asset ecosystem for institutions.”
what to see
KuCoin Institutional is a division of KuCoin, a global exchange dedicated to financial institutions, providing trading infrastructure, capital management, and compliance services. Cactus Custody is a subsidiary of Matrixport Group, licensed under Hong Kong’s TCSP regime, and has built a reputation serving over 300 institutions with billions of dollars of assets under custody. This integration builds on KuCoin’s $2 Billion Trust Project, a broader effort to strengthen trust, security, and infrastructure for institutions in KuCoin’s ecosystem.
If you are an institutional investor or are considering this type of trading setup, here are some points to note: how smoothly the settlement process runs in real-time, whether trades execute and settle successfully every four hours, and whether the custody and trading setup truly reduces the need for pre-funding an exchange wallet, thereby improving capital utilization.
So are the overall adoption rates in terms of how many financial institutions move to this model and how much liquidity flows through this custody arrangement. It is important to stay aware of institutional trading terms (eligibility, fees, access tiers), as not all customers will qualify immediately.
final thoughts
Simply put, this is a meaningful upgrade for institutional crypto trading. By combining KuCoin’s trading infrastructure with Cactus Custody’s security and regulated custody services, financial institutions can trade with greater confidence. This integration bridges the gap between having to choose between full custody but less liquidity or more liquid but higher risk trading on an exchange.
If you are in the institutional cryptocurrency world, it may be worth considering whether you can access OES services via KuCoin Institutional and Cactus Custody. For the broader market, this move signals that crypto infrastructure is maturing as more professional, more secure, and more organization-friendly.
Also read: Senator Lummis: Market structure is the most important part of digital asset legislation