Standard Chartered launches RLUSD custody, plans LMAX deal

what happened

Cointelegraph reports that Standard Chartered has launched institutional custody services for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and plans to broaden its role as trading collateral. The UK-based multinational bank said RLUSD support on the XRP Ledger is now available through its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch for eligible institutional clients.

Standard Chartered also intends to extend its collateral-mirroring structure to LMAX Group, an institutional trading company. Under the proposed arrangement, clients could use RLUSD as collateral while the tokens remain in the bank’s custody. LMAX would be able to recognize the value of eligible holdings without requiring clients to move them to its trading platform.

The bank said the structure could lower transfer-related risks and help institutions manage their exposure to trading counterparties. Ripple and LMAX previously announced a partnership in January 2026 to broaden institutional use of the stablecoin. The additional collateral features remain dependent on final documentation, testing, regulatory requirements and internal approvals.

why it matters

The initiative would give RLUSD an institutional custody framework and potentially connect the stablecoin with trading-collateral workflows at LMAX. The proposed functionality is not yet final and remains subject to several approvals.

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