Standard Chartered and OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange and global on-chain technology company, have announced the launch of a collateral mirroring programme on April 10, 2025. This program aims to allow institutional clients to use cryptocurrencies and tokenised money market funds as off-exchange collateral for trading.
This initiative improves security and capital efficiency for institutional clients by using a Globally Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) to safeguard their collateral.
Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered, said:
“Our collaboration with OKX to enable the use of cryptocurrencies and tokenised money market funds as collateral represents a significant step in providing institutional clients with the confidence and efficiency they need.”
The collateral mirroring programme has been launched as a pilot under the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority’s (VARA) framework. It offers clients better protection against counterparty risks, which is a major concern in today’s digital asset markets.
Standard Chartered serves as the independent, regulated custodian in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), overseen by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. It ensures the secure storage of assets used as collateral. Meanwhile, OKX, through its VARA-regulated entity, handles collateral and manages transactions.
Franklin Templeton will be the first in a series of money market funds that will be offered under the OKX-SCB programme.
Hong Fang, President of OKX, added,
“By leveraging Standard Chartered’s position as a top custodian globally, as well as OKX’s market leadership in cryptocurrency trading, the partnership sets an industry standard for current and potential institutional clients to deploy trading capital at scale in a trusted environment.”
This partnership allows OKX clients to access on-chain assets created by Franklin Templeton’s Digital Assets Team, integrating them smoothly into their financial and operational systems.
Brevan Howard Digital, the crypto and digital asset division of global investment manager Brevan Howard, is one of the first institutions to join this innovative program.
Source of image: Edited from Freepik