BitGo Enables Self-Custody Institutional Access to Decibel DEX via WalletConnect

BitGo Holdings has integrated WalletConnect support for its self-custody institutional clients through Decibel, a decentralized exchange built on the Aptos network. This move allows institutional players to access onchain spot and perpetual markets without compromising their existing security protocols, bridging the gap between regulated custody and decentralized trading environments.

What was announced

BitGo is enabling its institutional clients to connect their self-custody Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallets directly to Decibel via the WalletConnect protocol. This functionality allows users to initiate trades from the Decibel interface while maintaining their assets within the BitGo ecosystem. Crucially, the integration ensures that existing transaction controls—such as address whitelisting and multi-party approval workflows—remain active throughout the trading lifecycle.

Initially, BitGo will support wallet connectivity for the Ethereum and Solana networks. This allows customers to engage with Decibel’s trading venue without the need to transfer assets into separate, potentially less secure wallets or alter their established internal approval processes. Decibel itself operates as a decentralized exchange (DEX) for both spot and perpetuals trading, leveraging the Aptos network to provide sub-second finality for transactions.

The integration addresses a long-standing friction point for institutional investors who have historically held digital assets with regulated custodians but faced operational hurdles when attempting to access onchain liquidity. By utilizing BitGo’s MPC infrastructure and wallet policy engine, institutions can now elect to trade on decentralized venues while retaining the same level of oversight and governance they apply to their cold or warm storage solutions. This setup is designed to eliminate the "operational gap" between where institutional capital is stored and where active onchain markets operate.

"Institutions have wanted access to onchain markets for a long time. What held them back was never interest. It was the operational gap between where their assets sit and where the markets run,"

Brylee Whatley, Executive Director at Decibel Foundation.

The companies involved

BitGo Holdings, Inc. is a prominent digital asset infrastructure provider that offers a range of services including custody, wallets, and prime brokerage. The company is known for its focus on institutional-grade security, particularly through its multi-signature and MPC wallet technologies. Decibel Foundation oversees Decibel, a decentralized exchange specifically designed for high-performance trading of spot and perpetual contracts. The exchange is built on the Aptos network, a Layer 1 blockchain developed by Aptos Labs.

Aptos Labs, led by Chief Business Officer Solomon Tesfaye, is a core developer of the Aptos blockchain, which aims to provide scalable and reliable infrastructure for decentralized applications. The network is positioned as a high-throughput alternative to legacy blockchains, focusing on speed and security for institutional capital. Decibel Foundation operates within this ecosystem to facilitate onchain trading that meets the rigorous demands of professional market participants. Together, these entities represent a convergence of traditional institutional custody standards and the emerging decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape, focusing on removing the technical barriers that have previously limited large-scale institutional participation in onchain markets.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed the expansion of both BitGo and the Aptos ecosystem as they seek to capture institutional market share. In late 2026, we reported that BitGo Acquires NYDIG's Institutional Trading Business to Boost Capital Markets Infrastructure, a move that significantly enhanced its derivatives and trading capabilities. This acquisition signaled BitGo's intent to move beyond pure custody into a full-service capital markets provider. Additionally, the Aptos network has been active in expanding its global footprint; we previously covered how the Aptos Foundation and Bitso Partnership Enhances Instant Stablecoin Transfers to Latin America. This prior coverage highlights a broader trend of infrastructure providers building the necessary rails for cross-border and institutional-grade digital asset movement.

What this means

This integration represents a significant shift in the "custody vs. utility" debate that has dominated institutional crypto. For years, the industry has struggled with the trade-off between the security of regulated custody and the agility required to trade on decentralized venues. By allowing assets to remain under BitGo’s MPC controls while interacting with Decibel, the market is moving toward a model where custody is no longer a siloed function but an integrated layer of the trading stack. This puts pressure on traditional custodians who lack robust DeFi connectivity. The success of this model will likely depend on whether other Layer 1 networks can offer the same level of institutional-grade finality and security that Aptos is currently marketing.