Standard Chartered, OKX, and Franklin Templeton launched a pilot trading platform designed to enable institutional clients to use crypto and tokenized money market funds as collateral in off-exchange transactions, according to an April 10 release.
Franklin Templeton’s Digital Assets division will contribute tokenized on-chain assets, which OKX clients will be able to integrate into trading and risk management workflows. The structure is intended to meet institutional security, regulatory compliance, and liquidity standards.
Franklin Templeton’s head of digital assets, Roger Bayston, emphasized the importance of native blockchain integration.
He added that minting assets on-chain enables true ownership and near-instantaneous settlement, removing reliance on traditional infrastructure and aligning operational speed with blockchain-based systems.
Brevan Howard onboarded
The framework is intended to allow institutions to mirror collateral held securely with a third party while maintaining operational flexibility for trading.
Brevan Howard Digital, a division of the global alternative investment manager Brevan Howard, is one of the first firms to participate in the pilot.
Brevan Howard Digital’s chief administrative officer, Ryan Taylor, said that the program reflects the continued institutionalization of the digital asset sector and the increasing availability of compliant infrastructure for large-scale participation.
The program operates within the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) framework. It aims to provide capital efficiency and enhanced asset protection through custody arrangements with a globally systemically important bank (G-SIB).
Under the pilot structure, Standard Chartered will act as the independent custodian through its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) entity, which the Dubai Financial Services Authority regulates.
Meanwhile, OKX, operating through its VARA-regulated entity, will manage the collateral and facilitate transaction execution.
Addressing institutional demand
According to Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head of financing and securities services at Standard Chartered, the initiative leverages the bank’s established custody infrastructure to provide a secure mechanism for holding digital collateral.
She added that the collaboration addresses institutional demand for trusted digital asset custody and supports the safe use of blockchain-based products in trading environments.
OKX President Hong Fang said the program is a framework for deploying trading capital in a secure, capital-efficient manner. Fand noted that OKX’s infrastructure, combined with Standard Chartered’s custody services, creates a regulatory-grade environment suitable for institutional participants.
The initiative seeks to facilitate the broader adoption of tokenized instruments in institutional trading by enabling institutions to post digital assets as collateral while maintaining regulatory safeguards and custodial segregation.
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