Standard Chartered to become OKX’s custodian in Europe

Standard Chartered to become OKX’s custodian in the EEA, allowing institutional clients to store crypto assets with the bank, rather than on an exchange.

International bank Standard Chartered is deepening its cooperation with crypto exchange OKX by becoming its institutional custodian in the European Economic Area (EEA).

The launch of a new collateral mirroring program allows European institutional clients to store their crypto assets directly in Standard Chartered’s custodial vault, with the assets “mirrored” in the OKX system for trading.

“Partnering with a systemically important bank is a new level of trust in the market,” said OKX Europe CEO Erald Hus.

Expansion after Dubai pilot

The program is a continuation of the pilot launch in Dubai in April 2025. Its goal is to allow institutions to trade through OKX while keeping crypto assets with a large bank that is subject to strict financial supervision.

In Europe, this initiative coincided with OKX obtaining a Maltese license under the MiCA regulatory framework, which strengthened the exchange’s position in the market.

How the program works

Before the Standard Chartered deal, most OKX clients stored crypto on the exchange itself, while fiat transactions were carried out through regular banks.

To increase security, OKX also allowed the use of third-party custodians, such as Copper or Komainu.

Assets can now be held directly with Standard Chartered, while the exchange reflects their balances in its trading system. This creates a transparent, regulated and reliable model for managing crypto assets.

Rebuilding trust after the October crash

The partnership with the bank came against the backdrop of the market crash in October, when liquidations on exchanges reached $20 billion. Binance was then at the center of a scandal over price oracle issues and allegations of losing investors’ funds.

“Recent events have reignited the ‘Wild West’ narrative in crypto, but our collaboration with Standard Chartered shows how much the market has matured,” added Gus.

Banks enter crypto

Standard Chartered has become the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to integrate directly with a crypto exchange.

The move symbolizes the gradual institutionalization of the crypto market, where traditional finance is starting to shape security and regulatory standards.