Calais Digital Assets becomes the first fund to use UBS collateral

Calais Digital Assets is said to have become the first investment fund to use assets held in custody at UBS as collateral for trading on Bybit, pioneering the integration of traditional assets.

6/20/20263 min read

The big problem for traditional finance.

One of the biggest hurdles for traditional investment funds entering the crypto market has always been asset custody. For years, institutions have had to choose between two imperfect options: either hold assets in a custodian bank but have limited access to market liquidity, or transfer assets directly to an exchange for trading but accept counterparty risk.

Following events like the FTX crash in 2022, the need for separation between custody and trading has become increasingly urgent. Fund managers want to maintain assets in tightly regulated financial institutions while still having flexible access to the crypto market. Calais's use of assets held in custody at UBS as collateral on Bybit shows the industry is moving closer to the model that traditional financial institutions have adopted for decades.

In a landmark development for institutional cryptocurrency trading, Calais Digital Assets, a digital asset investment fund, has become the first fund to receive financial backing from UBS to trade on Bybit, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges. This agreement, confirmed by both parties on March 24, 2026, allows Calais to utilize underwriting guarantees issued by UBS and traditional bank collateral to support its leveraged trading positions on the Bybit platform.

UBS is moving deeper into the digital asset infrastructure.

This event also highlights the growing involvement of global banks in the cryptocurrency system. In the early years of the market, the majority of token storage and payment asset holding was conducted by crypto-native companies. However, as institutional capital flows increased, banks began seeking opportunities to participate in this sector.

An institution like UBS's presence in the structured trading of crypto investments highlights the increasingly blurred lines between TradFi and crypto. In competition with blockchain, banks are seeking to become part of this new ecosystem by offering custody, payment, and asset management services to institutional clients.

In the context of an increasingly institutionalized cryptocurrency market, exchanges are fiercely competing to attract capital from investors, banks, and asset managers. These clients often demand significantly higher operational standards than private investors, particularly regarding asset custody, risk management, and capital protection. The ability to support trading models with collateral held by reputable third parties can become a crucial competitive advantage for exchanges seeking to expand into the institutional segment.

Crypto is approaching the Prime Brokerage model.

It's noteworthy that this structure shares many similarities with the prime brokerage system that has long existed in traditional financial markets. On Wall Street, investment funds typically don't transfer all their assets to the trading location. Instead, assets are held in custody at banks or independent management organizations, while brokers use those assets as the basis for granting trading limits. More broadly, the Calais-UBS-Bybit event is part of a wave of institutionalization taking place across the entire digital asset market. Over the past two years, the market has witnessed:

Bitcoin Spot ETF is rapidly expanding.
Banks are launching digital asset custody services.
Stablecoins are integrated into payment systems.
Tokenized assets are experiencing strong growth.

This announcement comes at a time when institutional participation in the cryptocurrency derivatives market is increasing but remains constrained by legal, operational, and risk factors. Major exchanges like Bybit, Binance, and Hyperliquid are fiercely competing to attract institutional capital, with flexibility in asset collateralization emerging as a key differentiating factor.

Assessment and Conclusion

The collaboration between Calais, UBS, and Bybit is not just a single deal, but a significant step forward in the development of cryptocurrency trading infrastructure. By connecting traditional bank collateral with the execution of cryptocurrency derivatives, it helps to ease barriers for institutional investors and signals that the barriers between traditional finance (TradFi) and cryptocurrencies are gradually being removed. As more funds seek efficient and regulated access to the digital asset market, structures like this are likely to become more prevalent in 2026 and beyond.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is the author's personal opinion in the field of cryptocurrencies. This is not financial or investment advice at all. Every investment decision should be based on careful consideration of your personal portfolio and risk tolerance. The opinion in the article does not represent the official position of the platform. We recommend that readers do their own research and consult experts before making any investment decisions.

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