Standard Chartered, OKX Launch Crypto Collateral Pilot in Dubai

Standard Chartered and OKX have launched a pilot program that allows institutional clients to use cryptocurrencies and tokenized money market funds (MMFs) as off-exchange collateral. This initiative is conducted under the regulatory framework of the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) and aims to enhance capital efficiency and counterparty risk protection. The program introduces a framework where digital assets can be mirrored as collateral without being physically transferred to exchanges. Standard Chartered will serve as the regulated custodian, ensuring asset safety and regulatory compliance, while OKX will manage the trading operations and facilitate transactions.

This collaboration establishes an industry standard for institutions to use trading capital at scale by leveraging Standard Chartered’s position as a top custodian worldwide and OKX’s market leadership in cryptocurrency trading. The program is expected to improve both confidence and operational efficiency in the evolving crypto asset ecosystem by providing a safe, compliant way of deploying off-exchange collateral via a globally systemically important bank (G-SIB).

Franklin Templeton, a prominent asset manager in the digital asset space, is one of the first institutions to onboard the program. Through the collaboration, OKX clients will gain access to on-chain assets developed by Franklin Templeton’s Digital Assets Team. Brevan Howard Digital is also among the first participants in this groundbreaking program. The addition of tokenized MMFs as collateral indicates a broader movement toward the normalization of crypto assets in conventional banking. Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered, emphasized the need for safe custody solutions and regulatory certainty in this evolution.

Launching the pilot within Dubai’s VARA framework is a strategic decision. VARA has emerged as one of the most forward-looking crypto regulators in the world, allowing innovation to continue under defined legal boundaries. This provides institutional players with the legal clarity and infrastructure they need to enter or grow their footprint in the digital asset market. By choosing Dubai as the base for the pilot, Standard Chartered and OKX are aligning themselves with a jurisdiction that actively fosters crypto innovation through robust but enabling regulation.

Franklin Templeton will be the first in a series of tokenized MMFs offered under the program. More institutions are expected to onboard in the coming months, with further tokenized assets added to the roster. Should the pilot be successful, it might open the door for a new industry standard in crypto-financial infrastructure—where blockchain assets are frequently used as secure, compliant collateral across global markets. This project might greatly increase the extent of institutional crypto involvement and strengthen the integration between conventional finance and blockchain-based assets if important institutional players keep participating and a G-SIB custodian supports it.