Standard Chartered to Custody Digital Assets for LMAX Group in DIFC and Luxembourg

Standard Chartered has been appointed digital asset custodian for LMAX Group, extending a partnership the two firms began with prime brokerage work earlier this year. The mandate runs through the bank's branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre, which is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and through Standard Chartered Luxembourg S.A.

LMAX Group runs institutional trading venues and supplies execution, custody and market data services for foreign exchange and digital assets. It is the first client on Standard Chartered Luxembourg's digital asset custody platform, which opened after the bank secured Markets in Crypto-Assets authorization in June 2026.

Built on a prime brokerage tie-up

The custody appointment follows a collaboration announced in July 2026, when the two companies executed what they described as the industry's first live digital asset prime brokerage trades. That work paired Standard Chartered's banking, credit and custody capabilities with LMAX Group's regulated digital asset market infrastructure.

Under the wider arrangement covering custody and settlement, Standard Chartered will hold digital assets on behalf of LMAX Group's institutional business. Running custody through two jurisdictions gives the firm regulated options across key international financial centres, which it says it needs as its institutional client base grows across the Middle East and Europe.

Ole Matthiessen, Standard Chartered's global head of transaction services and digital assets, said institutional clients scaling their digital asset operations need infrastructure that works across different markets and regulatory regimes. Combining bank-grade custody in DIFC and Luxembourg with the bank's trading and prime brokerage businesses supports a more connected institutional digital asset ecosystem, he said, adding that the bank is pleased to work with clients such as LMAX Group as they widen their digital asset offerings.

Margaret Harwood-Jones, chair of the board of Standard Chartered Luxembourg S.A., said the MiCA authorization marked an important step in the bank's European digital asset strategy. She described LMAX Group's arrival as the platform's first client as a milestone showing demand for trusted digital asset infrastructure operating inside a clear regulatory framework, and said the bank looks forward to building the foundations for the next generation of institutional digital asset markets.

Off-exchange custody under discussion

David Mercer, chief executive of LMAX Group, called the custody agreement a natural next step after the prime brokerage collaboration, saying regulated custody in both DIFC and Luxembourg gives his company, and the wider industry, institutional-grade infrastructure for its digital asset business and the changing needs of its clients.

The two firms are also exploring off-exchange custody arrangements. The aim is to let market participants reach trading opportunities while their assets stay with a regulated financial institution, pairing bank-grade custody with access to institutional digital asset liquidity. Both companies frame the work as answering a central requirement for the next phase of institutional adoption, tied to security, operational efficiency and risk management.