Standard Chartered and OKX just launched a very cool cryptocurrency collateral pilot program in Dubai. This program is running under the day-to-day regulatory watch of the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). This initiative combines Standard Chartered's established custodial services with OKX's cryptocurrency trading platform to establish a new standard for institutional clients. The pilot will feature tokenized money market funds by Franklin Templeton. This will be a key milestone in further connecting digital assets and traditional finance together.
Key Players and Their Roles
OKX under the leadership of President Hong Fang has a mission to drive innovation and protect client assets through capital-efficient growth. The collaboration leverages Standard Chartered's position as a top global custodian and OKX's market leadership in cryptocurrency trading.
“As the digital assets ecosystem becomes more ingrained within traditional finance, we strive to both drive growth and safeguard client assets in the most capital efficient manner. By leveraging Standard Chartered’s position as a top custodian globally, as well as OKX’s market leadership in cryptocurrency trading, the partnership sets an industry standard for current and potential institutional clients to deploy trading capital at scale in a trusted environment.” - Hong Fang, president of OKX
Brevan Howard Digital is the crypto division of the $16 billion global hedge fund Brevan Howard. In addition, they are an essential partner in this new effort. Ryan Taylor is the group head of compliance at Brevan Howard and chief administrative officer of Brevan Howard Digital. He concluded that the program exemplifies the constant innovation and institutionalization within the digital asset industry.
“This programme is the latest example of the continued innovation and institutionalisation of the industry. As a significant investor in the digital assets space, we are thrilled to partner with industry leaders to further grow and evolve the crypto ecosystem globally.” - Ryan Taylor, group head of compliance at Brevan Howard and CAO of Brevan Howard Digital
Integration of Tokenised Assets
Although Franklin Templeton is a traditional asset management giant—the largest in the world, with $1.58 trillion assets under management. Now, they’re helping us add tokenized money market funds to the pilot. Standard Chartered serves as the regulated custodian for the program. Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, states that with this integration, true ownership is possible. In addition, it expedites the settlement process.
“By ensuring assets are minted on-chain, we enable true ownership, allowing them to move and settle at blockchain speed – eliminating the need for traditional infrastructure.” - Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton
Regulatory Oversight and Industry Impact
The pilot program runs under the regulatory supervision of Dubai’s VARA, emphasizing the region’s dedication to regulated digital finance. Promoted as a case study of successful real-world implementations of regulated digital finance in the region, it is seen as a major victory for Cambodia. Standard Chartered and OKX are working to make this a reality. Together, we are helping to redefine the industry. Together their collaboration will offer institutional clients a secure, reliable, and trusted environment for deploying trading capital.
