Standard Chartered and OKX have announced a partnership expansion into Europe, bringing bank-backed crypto custody to institutions in the bloc.
Standard Chartered & OKX Expand Crypto Partnership To EEA
As revealed in a press release, OKX is expanding its partnership with Standard Chartered. The two first came together in April to launch a first-of-its-kind collateral mirroring program in the UAE, allowing institutional clients to custody their assets with the bank while mirroring those balances into the crypto exchange for trading.
Standard Chartered and OKX have now decided to expand this service to investors in the European Economic Area (EEA). “This innovation gives clients the best of both worlds: bank-grade custody and seamless exchange access, helping them reduce counterparty risk, strengthen asset security, and trade with greater confidence,” said the press release.
Standard Chartered is a major multinational financial institution headquartered in the UK that’s classified as a Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) by the Financial Stability Board (FSB). G-SIBs are considered institutions so core to the global economic framework that any instability related to them can have wide-reaching ripple effects. Earlier in the year, Standard Chartered became the first bank of this class to roll out a spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading desk for institutional traders.
With the OKX partnership, the bank has also become the first G-SIB to team up with a crypto exchange. OKX noted that the collaboration marks “a major step forward in aligning digital asset markets with the highest standards of traditional finance—bringing greater assurance and credibility for institutions and clients alike.”
OKX, currently ranked the second largest crypto exchange in the world based on trading volume, is licensed under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), the European Union’s unified framework for crypto assets. “MiCA provides clarity and certainty in regulation, which gives institutional clients the confidence to deploy capital securely,” read the press release. “By pairing this with innovative solutions like collateral mirroring, we’re helping clients trade more efficiently in a safeguarded environment.”
Speaking of institutional crypto developments in the EU, nine big banks announced in late September a consortium aimed at launching a MiCA-compliant euro-based stablecoin. “Stablecoins” are digital assets that have their price pegged to a fiat currency. Currently, the sector is heavily dominated by USD-tied tokens, so this initiative intends to create a real European alternative.
The initial list of participants included major European players, including two G-SIBs in ING and UniCredit. According to a Bloomberg report from last week, a tenth institution is joining the consortium: Citigroup, another G-SIB. The bank is the first non-European entity to take part in the effort.
While no concrete date is known for when the banks will release the euro stablecoin, the initial announcement noted that they are aiming for a launch in the second half of 2026.
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