Crypto exchange OKX has expanded its custody partnership with Standard Chartered into the European Economic Area (EEA), bringing a banking-grade custody model to institutional traders in Europe.
Key Takeaways:
OKX expanded its custody partnership with Standard Chartered to Europe, offering bank-grade protection. The model lets clients trade on OKX while their assets remain in Standard Chartered’s custody. The partnership strengthens regulatory trust in crypto.The move extends the program first launched in the UAE earlier this year and aims to strengthen investor protection by separating asset custody from trading, a practice standard in traditional finance but still emerging in the crypto space.
Partnership Lets Institutions Trade While Assets Stay in Bank Custody
The partnership allows institutional clients to store their assets with Standard Chartered, one of the world’s few Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs), while simultaneously mirroring those balances on OKX for trading.
This means clients can access OKX’s liquidity without transferring actual custody of their funds to the exchange, significantly reducing counterparty and custodial risks.
These concerns have loomed large since the 2022 collapse of FTX, which left billions in frozen user assets.
Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe, said the expansion marks a key milestone in aligning digital assets with traditional financial safeguards.
“The expansion highlights not only Standard Chartered’s confidence as the first and only G-SIB to work directly with a crypto exchange, but also the growing trust of regulators in this model,” he said.
Ghoos added that OKX’s MiCA license provides the regulatory clarity needed for institutions to deploy capital in Europe with greater confidence.
Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Financing and Securities Services, Margaret Harwood-Jones, said the collaboration combines the bank’s established custody infrastructure with OKX’s regulatory framework, delivering “secure and compliant solutions” for Europe’s institutional investors.
The model, she noted, aims to bring the same level of transparency and safety that institutional clients expect in traditional markets to the crypto industry.
OKX introduced a similar arrangement with Komainu earlier in 2024, part of its broader effort to offer off-exchange custody solutions.
It joins other major exchanges such as Deribit, Binance, and Bitget, which have pursued comparable partnerships to build trust after years of high-profile failures and regulatory scrutiny.
“For us, it all comes down to trust, regulation, and innovation,” said Ghoos. “With Standard Chartered as a partner, we’re bringing those principles to life in one of the world’s most important markets.”
OKX Integrates PayPal for Zero-Fee Crypto Purchases in Europe
In July, OKX partnered with PayPal to allow users in the European Economic Area to buy and deposit cryptocurrencies directly through the payments platform.
The move aims to simplify the buying process by offering familiar, localized payment methods such as PayPal balance, linked bank accounts, and cards, with no extra setup needed once accounts are connected.
The initiative follows the exchange’s recent Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) registration, ensuring full compliance with EU digital asset regulations.
Circle Internet Group and OKX have also announced a partnership aimed at expanding access to and liquidity for the USDC stablecoin.
The collaboration will introduce 1:1 conversions between USD and USDC on the OKX platform, improving trading efficiency and accessibility for the platform’s more than 60 million global users.
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