The collaboration between OKX and Standard Chartered signals a new era in institutional crypto infrastructure, focusing on security, regulation, and trust.
Key Highlights
- OKX and Standard Chartered launch the first bank-grade crypto custody service in Europe.
- Standard Chartered handles custody; OKX facilitates trading — ensuring secure and compliant institutional access.
- Over $100 million has already passed through pilot accounts, highlighting strong institutional interest.
OKX Delivers Secure Digital Asset Trading Across Europe
OKX, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, is expanding its institutional services within the European Economic Area (EEA) through a groundbreaking partnership with Standard Chartered.
The new model introduces safeguarded collateral mirroring, where institutional assets are securely held by Standard Chartered while trades are executed via OKX. This separation of custody and execution enhances trust and security.
This partnership provides institutions with safer, regulated access to digital assets, aligned with Europe’s evolving crypto regulatory landscape.
commented Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe.
What Makes This Partnership Unique?
OKX and Standard Chartered are pioneering a structure that allows institutional clients to store crypto assets with a traditional bank while trading seamlessly through a crypto exchange.
Key Benefits:
- Regulatory Assurance: Built within the MiCA-compliant regulatory framework, offering institutional investors legal clarity.
- Integrated Infrastructure: Standard Chartered handles custody; OKX provides liquidity, execution, and settlement — forming a seamless banking-to-crypto network.
- Bank-Backed Collateral: Institutions can use tokenized money market funds or crypto assets held at Standard Chartered as official collateral on OKX.
- Franklin Templeton Partnership: Phase one includes tokenized money market funds by Franklin Templeton’s Digital Assets team, integrating real-world assets (RWAs) directly into crypto trading.
Institutional Impact: Why This Matters
Analysts suggest this setup could become the blueprint for safe institutional participation in DeFi. Until now, major funds and enterprises avoided centralized exchanges due to custody risks. This partnership solves that by keeping assets safe in a regulated banking system while enabling real-time crypto trading.
This structure is likely to attract heavyweight institutions like Brevan Howard Digital and others, accelerating institutional entry into the European crypto sector.
Over $100 million has already flowed through the custody accounts since the pilot began — a clear sign of robust demand.
Conclusion
The OKX–Standard Chartered alliance is a pivotal step toward a secure, compliant, and reliable crypto trading infrastructure in Europe. By bridging traditional finance with digital assets, the partnership sets a precedent for future institutional involvement. With growing interest and tangible liquidity, it could become one of the defining moves in European crypto markets in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to the most common questions below.
It's a strategic collaboration to offer bank-grade crypto custody in Europe, allowing institutions to trade crypto via OKX while storing assets securely at Standard Chartered.
Assets are safeguarded at Standard Chartered while trading is conducted on OKX, separating custody and execution for enhanced security.
Yes. The model is MiCA-compliant and built specifically for the evolving regulatory landscape in the EU.
Institutional investors, including hedge funds, asset managers, and pension funds, who seek secure and regulated access to crypto markets.
Their Digital Assets team provides tokenized money market funds integrated into the custody-trading infrastructure, adding real-world asset exposure to crypto operations.
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or investment advice. Crypto-assets are highly volatile, so only invest funds that you are willing to lose and use your own research and risk management.
