Regulators across Europe are taking note as Standard Chartered becomes the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to directly extend a partnership with a crypto exchange in the European Union.
This decision marks a crucial step towards regulatory acceptance of hybrid conservation models. This signals a shift in how traditional finance and digital assets coexist under the new MiCA framework.
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Standard Chartered becomes first major global bank to expand EU crypto exchange deal with OKX
The collaboration integrates Standard Chartered’s regulated custody services into OKX’s European institutional offering. It supports secure collateral mirroring and enhanced asset protection for institutional clients.
This allows institutions to trade on OKX while keeping their assets secure with the bank. By reducing counterparty risk, the collaboration addresses a major concern of regulators and large investors.
“This expansion highlights Standard Chartered’s confidence as the first and only G-SIB to work directly with a crypto exchange. [and] regulators’ growing confidence in this model,” Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe, said in the announcement.
The partnership builds on an earlier collaboration launched in the UAE in April 2025. The two companies introduced the collateral mirroring program. This unique structure allowed bank-quality retention and foreign exchange liquidity to work together seamlessly.
Now extended to the European Economic Area, the model positions the OKX exchange as one of the few to align its infrastructure with bank-grade security and compliance standards.
At Standard Chartered, Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head of financing and securities services, described the expansion as a significant milestone.
She said combining the bank’s custody infrastructure with OKX’s regulatory framework means “ensuring the highest security and compliance standards for institutional clients in Europe.”
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Additionally, this announcement represents a deeper strategic transformation for OKX. As the exchange continues to obtain local licenses and expand its compliance operations, its leaders are working to redefine OKX’s global identity.
“Building transparency, compliance and trust takes years of real work: local licensing, 500+ compliance professionals, partnerships with global banks like Standard Chartered. This is how crypto grows,” said Star Xu, CEO of OKX.
Haider Rafique, Marketing Director of OKX, reinforced this change. He said the last few years have been about growth from offshore to onshore. This involved expanding local offices, recruiting from banks and law enforcement, and improving OKX’s ability to work directly with regulators.
OKX and Standard Chartered signal a new era of regulated crypto markets
Meanwhile, the timing of the announcement is remarkable. This follows recent waves of enforcement against illicit crypto networks. Among them are OFAC and FinCEN designations against the Huione Group, accused of facilitating billions of dollars in crypto-related fraud.
OKX has also publicly distanced itself from these entities, reaffirming strict internal controls to protect customer integrity and the trust of regulators.
For the European crypto ecosystem, the Standard Chartered-OKX partnership represents more than a success.
Additionally, this indicates that institutional-grade digital asset markets are maturing under regulatory oversight. This brings bank-guaranteed security and transparency to what was once a largely unregulated area.
