OKX Expands Custody Partnership with Standard Chartered

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has expanded its custody partnership with global bank Standard Chartered to the European Economic Area. This move is intended to introduce a model that allows institutional investors to trade on the OKX platform without directly transferring assets to the exchange.

According to The Block on the 16th (local time), OKX expanded the custody-segregated trading structure first introduced earlier this year in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Europe. This model applies the traditional financial sector's common 'separation of trading and custody' approach to the crypto asset market, and is a response to increased institutional demand to reduce the risks of assets held by exchanges following the 2022 FTX bankruptcy.

Through this collaboration, institutional clients can deposit assets with Standard Chartered while mirroring the same balance in a trading account within OKX to execute trades. This allows them to secure liquidity and trading opportunities without directly depositing assets on the exchange, and is characterized by reducing counterparty risk.

Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe, said, "This expansion is significant in that Standard Chartered is the first G-SIB to directly cooperate with a crypto exchange," and added, "Combined with OKX's MiCA (European Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation) license, it will provide both the regulatory clarity needed for institutional fund management and bank-level security."

Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financial & Securities Services at Standard Chartered, explained, "By combining the bank's custody infrastructure with OKX's regulatory framework, we will provide European institutional clients with safe and regulation-compliant digital asset solutions."