- By proving that the efficiency improvements of yield-bearing tokenized collateral are not theoretical, but rather deployable at institutional scale today, the live deployment of Calais brings the loop between infrastructure and practice to a conclusion.
- Bybit and DigiFT worked together in 2025 to increase institutional collateral support for UBS uMINT.
Calais (Calais Digital Assets), a multi-strategy quantitative investment fund with its headquarters in Singapore, has become the first institutional client to deploy UBS uMINT as off-exchange settlement (OES) collateral in active trading operations. This achievement represents a significant milestone in the adoption of institutional-grade tokenized assets in the real world.
The transaction was carried out across an integrated infrastructure layer that included Bybit, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world based on trading volume and a licensed virtual asset platform operator across multiple jurisdictions; ByCustody, which is Bybit’s institutional custody arm; and DigiFT, which is an authorized distributor of the UBS USD Money Market Investment Fund (“uMINT”), which is the first tokenized investment fund that was launched by UBS Asset Management. In accordance with the OES collateral model, Calais’s uMINT holdings continue to be held in custody by ByCustody while concurrently functioning as live trading collateral on Bybit. This enables the fund to keep the yield on its collateral position for the whole of its trading activity.
From Infrastructure to Capital Efficiency
Bybit and DigiFT worked together in 2025 to increase institutional collateral support for UBS uMINT. This partnership developed the technological and regulatory environment for uMINT to be accepted as trading collateral. The announcement comes as a result of this effort. By proving that the efficiency improvements of yield-bearing tokenized collateral are not theoretical, but rather deployable at institutional scale today, the live deployment of Calais brings the loop between infrastructure and practice to a conclusion.
Trading counterparties are required to deposit idle cash or cash equivalents to an exchange as part of traditional OES collateral arrangements. This capital is capital that is not available for use and does not generate any income. By deploying uMINT, which is an institutional-style USD money market fund created on the Ethereum public blockchain, Calais is able to keep a continual yield on assets that would otherwise be stuck in a position that does not generate any interest.
The end result is a significant gain in capital efficiency, which manifests itself as collateral that functions more effectively without sacrificing the security or liquidity profile standards that are necessary for institutional trading activities. An Infrastructure Stack for Multiple Parties The transaction is made possible by a three-layer architecture that was purpose-built for the purpose.
- DigiFT, as the official licensed distributor of the UBS uMINT token, offers the regulated access layer through which institutional customers subscribe to and hold uMINT on-chain.
- ByCustody is a service that offers institutional-grade custody of the token inside Bybit’s licensed operational framework. This segregated custody ensures that assets are maintained safely and recognized as valid collateral for trading purposes.
- Bybit’s exchange infrastructure is capable of accepting the custodied uMINT as settlement collateral, which enables Calais to engage in trading without the need to pre-fund positions with cash.
The contrast between custody and deployment is important from both an operational and a risk management point of view, and this structure serves to highlight that separation. It is not necessary for assets to leave regulated custody in order for them to operate as exchange collateral. This helps to maintain the security architecture that institutional allocators demand.
Lily Yan, Founder & CEO, Calais Digital Assets:
“As a systematic, quantitative fund, capital efficiency is not a marginal consideration — it is core to how we construct and manage portfolios. Deploying uMINT as OES collateral through this infrastructure allows us to earn yield on assets that would otherwise be frozen as idle margin. This is precisely the kind of structural improvement that institutional adoption of tokenised assets should enable, and we are pleased to be among the first to execute it in live trading conditions.”
Henry Zhang, Founder & Group CEO, DigiFT:
“Institutional adoption of any new financial infrastructure follows a disciplined path — and it should. The fact that a sophisticated quantitative fund like Calais has deployed uMINT as live OES collateral is precisely the validation that matters. This is not a pilot or a proof of concept. It is a fund making a deliberate, operationally considered decision to improve capital efficiency through regulated tokenised assets — and that is the clearest signal yet that institutional RWA utility has arrived.”
Yoyee Wang, Bybit’s Global Head of RWA and TradFi:
“Bybit has always believed that the future of institutional trading lies in making capital work smarter — not harder. Accepting uMINT as OES collateral is a natural extension of that conviction: it allows sophisticated trading firms like Calais to maintain yield on assets that would traditionally sit idle as margin, while trading on one of the world’s most liquid platforms. ByCustody provides the custody backbone that makes this possible safely and within a regulated framework. Together, this demonstrates what institutional-grade infrastructure looks like when exchange, custody, and regulated distribution are built to work in concert.”
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