A major British bank, Standard Chartered, is expanding its direct collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange OKX to provide institutional digital asset custody services across Europe, signaling a significant move towards mainstream financial integration for the crypto market.
This partnership allows institutional clients to trade on OKX while their digital assets remain held by Standard Chartered, effectively mitigating counterparty risk. The initiative represents an expansion of a similar model first introduced by the two entities earlier this year in the United Arab Emirates.
Standard Chartered is the first Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) to partner directly with a cryptocurrency exchange. This pioneering role was highlighted by Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe.
The collaboration is adapted for the European Economic Area’s regulatory landscape, particularly under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. This approach addresses long-standing concerns about asset security, especially after high-profile collapses like FTX in 2022, which left billions of dollars in client funds trapped.
Erald Ghoos stated that the model offers “protection with banking standards and direct access to markets.” He added that OKX’s MiCA license provides the necessary regulatory clarity for institutions to confidently deploy capital. Ghoos also noted that the growing collaboration reflects Standard Chartered’s trust and increasing regulatory acceptance of this model.
Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered, affirmed that the combination of the bank’s custody infrastructure and OKX’s regulatory framework will deliver secure and compliant solutions for European institutional clients. Standard Chartered has shown increasing interest in blockchain solutions for its institutional clients, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital assets.
This segregated custody model, while common in traditional finance, is becoming more prevalent within the crypto industry. Other major exchanges, including Deribit, Binance, and Bitget, are also developing “off-exchange” solutions to reduce counterparty risk and attract institutional investment. OKX previously collaborated with Komainu in 2024 for similar services.
The strengthening of such structures reflects a broader trend toward maturity in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Segregated custody and regulatory clarity under MiCA are emerging as decisive factors for attracting new institutional investors to the digital asset market.