Standard Chartered Opens RLUSD Custody Through Its DIFC Branch
The bank's Dubai branch will hold Ripple USD for eligible clients, while making the token usable as collateral at LMAX remains subject to approvals.
Nadia Mansour Nadia Mansour covers fintech across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted -- digital banking, payments licences and the startups building around them. nadia@anecdoted.com
Standard Chartered has begun offering institutional custody for Ripple USD, the stablecoin issued by Ripple and known as RLUSD, on the XRP Ledger. Eligible clients reach the service through the bank's branch inside the Dubai International Financial Centre, an entity regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
The XRP Ledger is a public blockchain built for financial transactions. Putting a regulated bank branch between institutional holders and that network gives asset managers and trading firms a custody route that sits inside an established supervisory perimeter rather than outside it.
Collateral plans with Ripple and LMAX
The bank is working with Ripple and LMAX Group on a second stage: making RLUSD acceptable as collateral. Under the plan, LMAX would take RLUSD as collateral for agreed products used in trading and collateral management.
LMAX Group has agreed to adopt Standard Chartered's collateral mirroring model. Clients would not have to move their RLUSD to the trading venue. Instead, the bank would mirror the value of eligible holdings across to LMAX. The companies said the arrangement could cut the operational risk that comes with transfers, and help clients keep track of counterparty exposure while using their capital more efficiently.
What the executives said
Waqar Chaudry, global head of digital assets, securities services, transaction services at Standard Chartered, said that linking the bank's capabilities with Ripple and LMAX can help clients fold digital assets into their wider financial activity with greater confidence.
Jack McDonald, senior vice president for stablecoins at Ripple, said that RLUSD on the XRP Ledger, combined with Standard Chartered's custody work and LMAX Group's institutional trading infrastructure, offers institutions a workable route to using stablecoins across global markets.
Conditions still outstanding
The collateral capabilities are not available yet. They depend on final documentation, successful testing, applicable laws and regulations, internal approvals and readiness in each jurisdiction. The firms said they will release further details as implementation moves forward.
For now, the custody service at the DIFC branch is the piece that is live. The collateral leg stays gated behind paperwork, testing and regulatory sign-off.
