Standard Chartered Holds Ripple Stablecoin in Dubai, Enables In-Custody Trading
Standard Chartered to Custody Ripple’s RLUSD in Dubai, With Plan for “Mirrored” Collateral Trading on LMAX
Standard Chartered’s Dubai branch has begun offering regulated institutional custody for Ripple’s U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, which runs on the XRP Ledger. The move expands the bank’s digital asset custody business in the UAE and positions RLUSD as a bank-held collateral option for eligible institutions.
Alongside the custody rollout, Standard Chartered and LMAX Group are planning an arrangement that would allow clients to use RLUSD held at the bank as trading collateral on LMAX’s venue without transferring the stablecoin to the trading platform. The initiative remains subject to testing as well as regulatory requirements and approvals.
The model relies on what Standard Chartered calls “collateral mirroring.” Under this setup, the RLUSD would stay in custody at Standard Chartered, while LMAX receives a mirrored record of its value that can be recognized for the client’s trading activity. In other words, the tokens themselves would not move onto an exchange to be used as margin.
Standard Chartered framed the approach as a response to institutional requirements around asset protection. “Institutional clients want to participate in digital asset markets without compromising on how their assets are safeguarded,” said Waqar Chaudry, who leads digital assets in the bank’s securities services unit.
The structure separates custody from execution: the bank holds the stablecoin, while the trading venue accepts the collateral value for risk and margin purposes. For banks, funds, and other institutions that want exposure to stablecoin-based trading but are cautious about leaving assets on a venue, that division can be operationally important.
The announcement builds on Standard Chartered’s recent expansion in the region. The bank has offered crypto custody in Dubai since 2024, and in July said it became the first global systemically important bank to allow institutions to mint and redeem Circle’s USDC directly.
More broadly, the move reflects how large regulated banks are increasingly positioning themselves as custody providers for tokenized cash equivalents. Stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value—typically $1 per token—and are commonly backed by cash and short-term government securities. Institutions often use them to move dollar-denominated value on-chain with faster settlement than traditional bank transfers, including outside standard banking hours.
