- Standard Chartered expands crypto custody partnership with OKX across the European Economic Area (EEA), offering institutional clients bank-level asset security.
- Collateral mirroring program enables institutions to hold crypto in Standard Chartered’s custody while trading mirrored balances on OKX.
- OKX Europe CEO Erald Ghoos says the partnership rebuts “Wild West” claims, reinforcing trust and transparency after October’s $20 billion crypto market crash.
Global banking powerhouse Standard Chartered has strengthened its collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange OKX, expanding their institutional custody partnership across the European Economic Area (EEA).
The move follows the success of their pilot collateral mirroring program launched in Dubai in April, which allows institutional investors to store their digital assets directly with Standard Chartered a globally systemically important bank (G-SIB) while mirroring those balances on OKX for trading.
According to an Oct. 15 announcement, the program’s expansion into Europe is designed to provide regulated, bank-level asset protection for institutional clients and aligns with OKX’s continued regulatory progress, including securing a MiCA-compliant Maltese license earlier in 2025.
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How the collateral mirroring model works
Before integrating Standard Chartered, OKX primarily relied on its in-house custody for institutional holdings, while fiat transactions were handled by external banking partners. Clients seeking additional risk mitigation could opt for third-party custodians such as Copper or Komainu.
Now, under the new structure, institutional investors can keep their crypto directly with Standard Chartered, while OKX “mirrors” those balances on its trading platform. This ensures clients retain full custody with a regulated financial institution while maintaining the liquidity and flexibility of on-exchange trading.
Strengthening trust after October’s flash crash
The expansion comes in the aftermath of the October market crash, which triggered nearly $20 billion in liquidations and renewed concerns over transparency and counterparty risk in the crypto space.
As major exchanges, including Binance, faced heavy scrutiny over technical failures and pricing discrepancies during the crash, OKX’s partnership with Standard Chartered aims to rebuild institutional trust by demonstrating how traditional finance (TradFi) and crypto infrastructure can safely converge.
Recent events have reignited the ‘Wild West’ narrative around crypto,” said Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe,. Partnerships like with Standard Chartered show how far the industry has come. We’re proving that regulated, secure, and transparent models are the true future of digital assets.
A new benchmark for institutional crypto integration
By working directly with a globally regulated banking group, OKX becomes one of the few exchanges offering institutions dual-layer protection combining blockchain efficiency with bank-grade custody assurance.
The collaboration not only strengthens OKX’s European footprint but also marks another milestone in the mainstream institutional adoption of digital assets, illustrating how cross-sector partnerships can help professionalize and stabilize crypto markets following periods of extreme volatility.
