Bitget’s CLO: Eight years of Proof of Reserves, security infrastructure and regulatory growth is only the beginning

Bitget’s Chief Legal Officer, Hon Ng, shared a letter expressing how eight years is a meaningful milestone for Bitget and an opportunity to reflect on how much the platform has changed since it started.

Eight years ago, Bitget was a crypto derivatives exchange. Today, the platform serves more than 125 million users and is expanding across crypto, tokenized equities, commodities and other global markets under the Universal Exchange (UEX) vision. 

That evolution changes what users should expect from an exchange and with that expansion comes greater responsibility.

Greater access has to come with stronger infrastructure around it. For Bitget, that means more transparency, stronger security and compliance frameworks capable of supporting a broader range of markets. 

For Ng, the important part is that these standards grow with the platform. The responsibility also becomes broader as the exchange scales.

Reserves and safeguards: 46 straight months, a fund topping $382M

Bitget introduced Proof of Reserves in December 2022. Since then, the exchange has published reserve data every month, maintained the commitment to hold user assets at a minimum 1:1 reserve ratio, and provided Merkle Tree-based verification so users can independently verify the inclusion of their assets in Bitget’s reserves. 

In September 2026, Bitget’s 46th consecutive Proof of Reserves report recorded a total reserve ratio of 135%. The average reserve ratio has remained above 120%. As the platform grows, the transparency mechanisms need to keep pace.

This month, as Bitget marks its eighth anniversary, the exchange is expanding Proof of Reserves coverage from four assets to 19. As users gain access to more assets and markets, the scope of what they can independently verify should grow as well.

Proof of Reserves answers an important question about whether user assets are backed. User protection, however, extends beyond reserves to account security, market integrity and the controls governing how the platform operates.

Financial safeguards are another layer. Bitget established its Protection Fund in 2022 with an initial commitment of $300 million to provide an additional financial safeguard for users in extreme circumstances. 

In August 2026, the fund maintained an average valuation of approximately $382 million. The Protection Fund operates alongside the security systems designed to prevent incidents in the first place.

Layered defenses: From passkeys to market surveillance 

Security has to follow users across the platform, from account access and transaction monitoring to the underlying infrastructure. No single tool or control can address every risk, which is why Bitget thinks about security in layers.

Users have access to two-factor authentication, FIDO2 and WebAuthn passkeys, Anti-Phishing Codes and device controls, supported by withdrawal safeguards, transaction monitoring, anomaly detection and fraud-prevention systems behind the platform.

Protection also extends to the quality of the market users participate in. Earlier this year, Bitget introduced its Market Integrity and Token Accountability Framework to strengthen post-listing surveillance across listed assets, project teams and market makers. 

The framework is designed to identify risks, including abnormal wallet behavior, market manipulation, weak liquidity and other forms of suspicious trading activity, while creating clearer accountability for projects and market makers operating on the platform.

Where potential misconduct is identified, action may include enhanced risk warnings, restrictions, account freezes, trading suspensions or delisting where appropriate.

A patchwork of regulators: Compliance across ten-plus jurisdictions 

The same principle applies to compliance. Operating across multiple markets means navigating different regulatory frameworks, asset classifications and risk requirements. There is no single regulatory model that applies everywhere Bitget operates, which means responsible expansion requires the exchange to understand and meet the standards of individual markets. 

Bitget’s regulatory footprint has included registrations, licenses, and approvals across jurisdictions, including Argentina, Australia, El Salvador, Georgia (Tbilisi Free Zone), Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK. 

Regulatory requirements vary across jurisdictions and asset classes, so compliance systems need to account for those differences. At Bitget, that includes KYC and KYB processes, AML and CFT controls, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring and ongoing engagement with regulators.

UEX raises that responsibility further. Bringing crypto, tokenized stocks, commodities and other assets into a unified trading environment means accounting for different market structures and risk profiles within the same platform. 

This is why Bitget has been working with BlockSec on a UEX Security Standard covering areas including verifiable solvency, multi-asset risk isolation, data and privacy protection, dynamic monitoring, and application and infrastructure defense.

The takeaway: Trust that has to keep scaling 

Eight years in the industry have reinforced that none of these standards can remain static. Transparency has to keep pace with the platform, security with new threats, and compliance with changing markets and regulatory frameworks. 

The lesson for Bitget is that growth and responsibility cannot be separated. Every expansion in what a platform offers also expands what it needs to protect, verify and account for.

Eight years ago, users began placing their trust in Bitget. Today, the platform is larger, the markets Bitget serves are broader and the infrastructure behind it is more complex. The responsibility that comes with that trust has grown accordingly.

An anniversary is a moment to recognize how far a company has come. For Ng, it is equally a reminder of what cannot change. Protecting user assets, maintaining strong controls and giving users greater visibility into how the platform operates remain fundamental to how Bitget should grow. 

Bitget’s eighth anniversary theme, “Built for Trades”, is ultimately about the security, transparency, and standards that users need to trade with confidence. As the exchange enters its ninth year, that responsibility remains the standard against which it wants its progress to be measured.