OKX Partners with Standard Chartered for Enhanced Security in Europe

OKX has announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, enhancing their presence in the European Economic Area (EEA). This collaboration, which initially started in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, introduces OKX’s collateral mirroring program for institutional clients in Europe, allowing them to securely hold assets with Standard Chartered, a globally recognized bank, while still maintaining necessary balances on OKX for trading.

The partnership provides institutions with a blend of bank-grade asset custody and immediate access to digital markets, minimizing counterparty risks and improving trading efficiency.

Expansion Details

In this new partnership, Standard Chartered becomes the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to engage directly with a crypto exchange. OKX stated that this expansion reflects increasing regulatory confidence and reinforces the importance of aligning crypto market frameworks with traditional financial systems. The partnership aims to furnish institutional clients with a comprehensive system for secure, compliant, and scalable digital asset management throughout Europe.

According to Margaret Harwood-Jones, Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Financing and Securities Services, the integration merges the bank’s custody capabilities with OKX’s regulatory structure, ensuring ’the highest standards of security and compliance for institutional clients in Europe.'

Additionally, this collaboration builds on OKX’s longstanding commitment to the European market, supported by its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license.

Regulatory Scrutiny and US Relaunch

In March, reports emerged about OKX’s decentralized trading and self-custody platforms being examined by European regulators due to their link to the laundering of $1.5 billion connected to the Bybit hack attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. OKX has denied these allegations, although the scrutiny could jeopardize its recently awarded MiCA license.

In response to regulatory pressures in Europe, OKX has also been working to establish itself again in the United States, having announced in April the reopening of its US crypto platform following a $505 million settlement with the Department of Justice earlier in the year.

Furthermore, OKX has appointed Roshan Robert as its CEO in the US and established headquarters in San Jose, California.