Key Notes
- Standard Chartered plans Singapore custody for selected cryptoassets, stablecoins and tokenized assets, serving institutional and eligible corporate clients.
- Its Luxembourg and DIFC custody appointments for LMAX show how the bank is building services across financial centres.
- A separate Anchorage partnership provides eligible institutional clients with dollar accounts, SWIFT transfers and in-network settlement around the clock.
Standard Chartered plans to offer custody for selected cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets in Singapore. The service is intended for institutional clients and accredited-investor corporate clients, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.
The bank announced the plan on October 8. It will connect digital asset custody and tokenization with the Singapore business’s existing Financing & Securities Services capabilities.
Ole Matthiessen, global head of Transaction Services & Digital Assets, called secure, regulated custody “a critical foundation of the digital asset ecosystem.”
Custody Alongside Existing Banking Services
Custody addresses a basic requirement for institutions holding blockchain-based assets: who safeguards the cryptographic keys that control them. Standard Chartered’s regional securities-services head, Francois Verlaine, described that function in a June analysis of digital finance, originally published in The Business Times.
His assessment also highlighted the operational work around tokenized funds. A token can represent a conventional financial instrument, but the digital record must remain aligned with the underlying asset. Safekeeping, records and servicing therefore remain relevant as securities move onto blockchain infrastructure.
Verlaine identified fragmented networks as another challenge. Funds, stablecoins and digital bonds can be issued on separate blockchains, requiring custody infrastructure capable of handling multiple networks and asset types. That helps explain why banks are combining digital custody with businesses that already service institutional portfolios.
A Network Built Across Financial Centres
The Singapore initiative follows specific custody appointments elsewhere in Standard Chartered’s network. On September 16, the bank named LMAX Group as a custody client through both its Dubai International Financial Centre branch and Standard Chartered Luxembourg.
LMAX became the first client on the Luxembourg digital asset custody platform after the bank received its MiCA authorization in June. The arrangement expanded a relationship in which the firms had already combined banking, credit, custody and trading infrastructure for digital asset prime brokerage transactions.
The partners also outlined plans for off-exchange custody, allowing institutions to access trading liquidity while keeping assets with a financial institution. That part of the September statement described development work, alongside the confirmed custody appointments.
Execution is a separate part of the bank’s offering. Standard Chartered introduced institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading through its DIFC branch on September 3, extending a capability first offered through its UK branch in July 2025.
Eligible UAE clients can trade through electronic channels connected to the bank’s existing foreign-exchange interfaces. The announcement says clients may settle with a custodian of their choice, including Standard Chartered. Trading access and custody can therefore be connected without requiring every client to use the same safekeeping provider.
Zodia Deal Would Consolidate Custody Operations
The group has also moved to bring more of its custody business together. In May, Standard Chartered disclosed that Zodia Custody’s shareholders and noteholders had accepted its non-binding acquisition offer. Completion was subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
The proposed transaction would integrate Zodia’s regulated custody activities into the bank’s Financing and Securities Services business. Its institutional technology platform would be separated into Zodia Solutions under SC Ventures, supplying infrastructure to financial institutions, including Standard Chartered.
That structure separates a business responsible for safeguarding client assets from a platform supplying the technology behind digital asset services. The May announcement set out the intended organization; its conditional terms should not be treated as confirmation that the acquisition had already closed.
Bank Custody Can Support Exchange Trading
An existing collateral pilot with OKX illustrates how bank custody can connect with a trading venue. Under the arrangement described by the exchange, institutional clients use cryptoassets and tokenized money-market funds as off-exchange collateral.
Standard Chartered holds the underlying assets as an independent custodian, while OKX’s Dubai entity manages collateral and facilitates transactions. Brevan Howard Digital was among the early participants. The separation addresses where trading collateral is held, a practical issue for institutions managing exposure to an exchange counterparty.
CoinScreamer’s recent coverage of the OKX relationship examined that commercial arrangement alongside the exchange’s investor announcements. The custody pilot provides an example of an operating service, distinct from an equity investment or a proposal for future market infrastructure.
Singapore Expansion Also Includes Dollar Payments
A separate Anchorage partnership connects Standard Chartered’s banking rails with institutional digital asset services. Anchorage Digital Singapore offers eligible clients US dollar accounts and SWIFT transfers, including payments to and from third parties.
Anchorage says Singapore clients can also move dollars around the clock with counterparties that bank with Standard Chartered Singapore. Its Atlas network supports those in-network transfers, including weekends and holidays. That availability applies to the specified settlement network; it does not mean every international SWIFT transfer settles instantly at any hour.
Standard Chartered’s October 8 custody announcement does not specify a launch date, supported token list or fees. Those details will determine when eligible Singapore clients can begin using the planned service.
Disclaimer: CoinScreamer is an independent media brand owned and operated by NuvexMedia LLC, publishing news, research, and market insights on digital assets and related technologies. NuvexMedia LLC invests in and collaborates with companies across the digital asset, blockchain, and technology sectors. These relationships do not influence CoinScreamer’s editorial coverage, and the publication maintains full editorial independence to provide accurate, timely, and objective information. © 2025 NuvexMedia LLC. All rights reserved. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, investment, financial, or other professional advice.
