Standard Chartered Now Safekeeps RLUSD — LMAX Wants It as Collateral 🎩

Standard Chartered has launched institutional custody services for Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and plans to extend the offering so clients can deploy the asset as trading collateral through LMAX Group. The UK-based multinational bank said Monday that RLUSD support is live on the XRP Ledger ($XRP) through its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch, which is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFC), giving eligible institutional clients access to its digital asset custody infrastructure.

The bank plans to bring its collateral-mirroring model to LMAX Group, the institutional trading company, allowing clients to use RLUSD as trading collateral while the tokens remain in Standard Chartered's custody. Under the arrangement, LMAX would recognize the value of eligible RLUSD holdings without requiring clients to transfer the tokens to its trading platform. Standard Chartered said the structure is intended to reduce transfer-related risks and help institutions manage exposure to trading counterparties, and added that institutions gain greater flexibility in how they hold and deploy digital assets for trading while optimizing capital efficiency.

Ripple, the blockchain payments company behind RLUSD, and LMAX Group previously announced a partnership in January 2026 to expand institutional use of the stablecoin. Standard Chartered said additional collateral capabilities remain subject to final documentation, testing, regulatory requirements and internal approvals.

"Institutional clients want to participate in digital asset markets without compromising on how their assets are safeguarded or how risk is managed," said Waqar Chaudry, Global Head of Digital Assets at Standard Chartered, noting that the ecosystem must make it easier for clients to hold assets securely, access liquidity and deploy collateral efficiently within trusted frameworks.

The custody launch and the planned LMAX collateral integration build on Standard Chartered's broader institutional digital asset strategy, which includes plans for institutional crypto custody services in Singapore. RLUSD issuance and reserve details remain governed by Ripple's existing stablecoin framework.