Standard Chartered Launches RLUSD Stablecoin Custody via Dubai Branch

Standard Chartered now offers institutional custody of Ripple USD (RLUSD), the stablecoin issued on the XRP Ledger, the bank announced in a release datelined Singapore on Monday, October 12, 2026. The service runs through the bank's branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The bank is also working with Ripple and trading group LMAX to make RLUSD eligible collateral for some LMAX products, a step that is not live yet. Per CoinGecko, RLUSD's market cap stood near $2.45 billion as of 6:30 AM ET.

Details

Custody is available to "eligible clients" through the bank's digital asset infrastructure, Standard Chartered says. Waqar Chaudry, the bank's global head of digital assets within Securities Services, framed the launch as a response to demand: institutional clients want to join digital asset markets "without compromising on how their assets are safeguarded or how risk is managed," he said. The move extends the bank's push into crypto custody. According to The Block, its Singapore unit said last week it plans to launch institutional crypto custody by the end of 2026, and the bank already offers the service in the UAE, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.

The second leg is collateral. Standard Chartered uses what it calls a collateral mirroring model: the value of RLUSD held in custody at the bank is reflected at the trading venue while the tokens never move. The release says this should cut transfer-related operational risk, trim exposure to the trading counterparty and improve capital efficiency. Luke Dorney, head of custody for digital assets at LMAX Group, called RLUSD "an increasingly important component" of institutional digital asset markets. The bank stresses that the new capabilities depend on final documentation, testing, regulatory requirements and internal approvals, and gives no dates.

For Ripple, the deal builds on its January partnership with LMAX, under which LMAX agreed to accept RLUSD as collateral and a settlement currency on its venues and Ripple provided the group with $150 million in financing. Jack McDonald, Ripple's SVP for stablecoins, said RLUSD "was built for exactly this kind of institutional use case." Cointelegraph asked the bank for product details and had not received a reply.

What it means for the market

RLUSD gains a global bank as a custodian alongside crypto-native firms, although at roughly $2.45 billion the stablecoin remains dozens of times smaller than USDT and USDC. It caps a busy week for the XRP ecosystem: the XRP Ledger bug fix and Evernorth's Nasdaq debut are now joined by bank custody for the network's stablecoin.

The wider backdrop matters too. On the same day the Financial Stability Board warned the G20 that oversight of the $300 billion stablecoin market remains immature. Standard Chartered's launch shows how large banks are answering that concern: by holding stablecoins and accepting them as collateral inside regulated structures, without letting the tokens leave the bank's perimeter.