Major Bank Adds Stablecoin Custody With Mirrored Trading

Standard Chartered has introduced an institutional custody service in Dubai for Ripple USD (RLUSD), a dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by cash equivalents, U.S. government bonds, and fiat dollars. The British bank announced on Monday that eligible institutions can now access its digital asset infrastructure through its DIFC branch, which operates under the regulation of the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

Digital asset custody involves a regulated institution keeping an asset in its vault, assuming legal responsibility for the funds. While the bank answers for the assets if issues arise, it also gains the authority to supervise, control, and freeze the funds under its care. The RLUSD rollout, which reports note took place in October 2026 after receiving the Dubai regulator's green light in June 2025, specifically covers the XRP Ledger version of the token. Ripple initially launched the stablecoin in December 2024 on both Ethereum and the XRP Ledger.

Collateral Mirroring

The bank is also joining a planned integration with London-based crypto and currency marketplace LMAX Group to make the stablecoin eligible collateral on agreed LMAX products. The partnership utilizes "collateral mirroring," allowing institutions to park their margin as a safety deposit against potential trading losses without ever handing the tokens over to an exchange.

Under this mirroring framework, the RLUSD stays securely at the bank, while LMAX receives a mirrored record of its value that counts toward a client’s open trades. If an exchange blowup were to occur, a trader’s collateral would remain safely sitting at Standard Chartered. The institution is one of 29 banks that the Financial Stability Board considers too big to fail, subjecting it to tougher capital rules. The LMAX leg is not yet live, as the bank stated it remains subject to testing, final documentation, and regulatory approvals.

“Institutional clients want to participate in digital asset markets without compromising on how their assets are safeguarded,” said Waqar Chaudry, who heads digital assets in the bank’s securities services unit.

Ecosystem Growth

Standard Chartered has offered crypto custody in Dubai since 2024. Furthermore, its venture arm, SC Ventures, recently joined Circle and Ripple as investors in the OKX platform during a funding round that valued the company at $25 billion. Major financial players are increasingly creating isolated settlement ecosystems focused solely on dollar stablecoins, utilizing closed compliance tests that last for months.

RLUSD issuance has shown strong organic growth, reaching a market capitalization of $2.41 billion. This places the asset 39th in the global stablecoin rankings, close behind PayPal USD's $2.9 billion market cap. Because banks view RLUSD as a pure settlement instrument, and its multichain nature spreads transactions across different networks, analysts at Santiment suggest this step signals the fintech company's ability to succeed without relying on accompanying growth for its native XRP token.