Standard Chartered has launched institutional custody services for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger on October 12, while preparing a separate arrangement with Ripple and LMAX Group that would allow clients to use the digital asset as trading collateral without moving it from the bank.
Summary
- Standard Chartered launched institutional custody for Ripple USD on XRP Ledger through its Dubai branch.
- Ripple and LMAX plan to let clients use RLUSD as collateral without transferring underlying tokens.
- The collateral arrangement remains subject to testing, final documents, internal approval, and applicable regulatory requirements.
- Ripple agreed to provide LMAX Group $150 million in financing under their January 2026 partnership.
- Standard Chartered previously expanded digital asset custody into Luxembourg, with LMAX becoming its first customer.
According to Standard Chartered, which confirmed the launch in an official statement, eligible institutional clients can now hold RLUSD through its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch, regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The bank is working with Ripple and LMAX Group to introduce collateral services that would allow institutions to use RLUSD for trading while keeping the stablecoin in regulated custody. However, the planned collateral arrangement still requires further testing, documentation and approvals.
— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) October 12, 2026JUST IN: Standard Chartered launches institutional custody for Ripple’s RLUSD on the XRP Ledger
The service is available through its DIFC branch, while the bank, Ripple and LMAX Group are working to make $RLUSD eligible collateral under a collateral mirroring model. pic.twitter.com/E5dm9nmEr8
Standard Chartered launches RLUSD custody on XRP Ledger
The new service extends Standard Chartered’s digital asset custody business to Ripple USD, a stablecoin designed to maintain a value of $1. Through the DIFC branch, eligible institutional clients can use the bank’s existing custody infrastructure to safeguard RLUSD issued on the XRP Ledger. The announcement confirms that custody support is operational, although the bank has not disclosed the number of clients using the service or the value of RLUSD currently held.
The custody service forms part of Standard Chartered’s ongoing work with Ripple and LMAX Group on institutional digital asset infrastructure. According to the bank, the three companies intend to combine regulated asset storage with access to trading and collateral management services. The planned structure would allow institutional customers to retain their digital assets at Standard Chartered while using their value to support eligible positions on LMAX’s trading platforms.
Waqar Chaudry, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets for securities and transaction services, said institutional investors want access to digital markets while maintaining established custody and risk management arrangements. He stated that financial institutions need services that let them safeguard assets, access liquidity and deploy collateral through regulated providers.
“Institutional clients want to participate in digital asset markets without compromising on how their assets are safeguarded or how risk is managed,” Chaudry explained.
The bank did not announce a minimum holding requirement, new trading fees or specific client eligibility thresholds for the RLUSD custody service. Its statement identified the DIFC branch as the operating entity and confirmed that the service is available to eligible institutional customers.
Ripple and LMAX plan to use RLUSD as trading collateral
Under the proposed arrangement, Standard Chartered would extend its existing collateral-mirroring model to LMAX Group. The system would allow the trading company to recognize the value of eligible RLUSD held in the bank’s custody without requiring the tokens to be transferred directly to the trading venue. Standard Chartered expects the arrangement to reduce operational risks associated with moving assets between custodians and exchanges, while allowing institutions to manage trading collateral through a separate custodian.
LMAX plans to recognize RLUSD as eligible collateral for agreed trading products and collateral management services. The bank’s October 12 announcement did not identify the complete list of products that would accept the stablecoin or confirm when the arrangement would become available. The companies said implementation remains dependent on final legal documentation, successful testing, applicable regulations, internal approvals and readiness in the relevant jurisdictions.
Luke Dorney, head of digital asset custody at LMAX Group, said the proposed arrangement would give institutional customers more options for holding and using RLUSD across the company’s markets. He described the stablecoin as an increasingly important asset for institutional cryptocurrency activity and said the partnership was designed around existing custody and risk management requirements.
Meanwhile, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, Jack McDonald, said the agreement would connect RLUSD with the trading infrastructure used by institutional market participants. He described the planned integration as a way for clients to use a regulated stablecoin while retaining their preferred custody arrangements.
“Our customers want the efficiency of a regulated stablecoin without giving up the custody standards they already trust,” McDonald stated.
The companies have not confirmed that RLUSD collateral mirroring is live. Standard Chartered’s statement distinguishes the custody service already available to institutions from the planned collateral functions that will be introduced after the remaining requirements are met.
Ripple’s $150 million LMAX partnership supports stablecoin expansion
The latest announcement follows a January 15 agreement between Ripple and LMAX Group intended to expand institutional stablecoin trading. Under the multi-year partnership, Ripple agreed to provide $150 million in financing to support LMAX’s cross-asset operations. The companies planned to integrate RLUSD into institutional trading infrastructure covering spot cryptocurrencies, perpetual futures, contracts for difference and foreign exchange products.
According to LMAX’s January announcement, the partnership was designed to support the use of RLUSD as collateral, margin funding and a settlement currency. The agreement included plans to connect Ripple Prime’s brokerage services with LMAX’s institutional trading venues. LMAX identified banks, brokers and investment firms among the clients expected to benefit from the services.
The October custody announcement introduces another arrangement for institutions participating in that partnership. By involving Standard Chartered as a separate custodian, clients could maintain eligible RLUSD holdings with the bank while accessing agreed LMAX products. The companies have not disclosed how much of Ripple’s January financing has been drawn or whether the new collateral arrangement changes the original financing terms.
Ripple has continued developing other institutional uses for RLUSD. As previously reported, the stablecoin exceeded $2 billion in market value in August 2026, with nearly $1 billion issued on the XRP Ledger at the time. Ripple’s update identified growing institutional use of the asset, although the figures do not establish how much RLUSD will eventually be held through Standard Chartered’s custody service.
Standard Chartered expands its institutional crypto services
Standard Chartered entered the UAE digital asset custody market in September 2024, initially supporting Bitcoin and Ethereum through its DFSA-regulated DIFC operations. In its original launch announcement, the bank named Brevan Howard Digital as its inaugural customer and described plans to expand the range of supported digital assets. The RLUSD launch extends those existing services to a stablecoin issued on the XRP Ledger.
The bank’s relationship with LMAX has developed through separate custody and trading agreements. On September 16, Standard Chartered announced its appointment as LMAX’s digital asset custodian through both its DIFC branch and Luxembourg operations. LMAX became the first customer to join Standard Chartered Luxembourg’s digital asset custody platform following the bank’s authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework in June 2026.
Earlier, Standard Chartered introduced collateral mirroring with cryptocurrency exchange OKX in April 2025. The bank’s official announcement described a program allowing institutional clients to use cryptocurrencies and tokenized money market funds as trading collateral while the assets remained with an independent custodian. Franklin Templeton participated in the initiative, which was launched under Dubai’s virtual asset regulatory framework.
In September 2026, Standard Chartered expanded institutional Bitcoin and Ethereum spot trading through its DIFC branch, following the introduction of similar services in the United Kingdom in July 2025. The bank said eligible customers could access cryptocurrency trading through existing electronic platforms and settle through their preferred custodian.
Its October 12 RLUSD announcement did not include a launch date for the LMAX collateral functions, with further operational details expected after documentation, testing and approvals are completed.