Standard Chartered expands digital asset partnership with LMAX Group

By Divya Shah

Standard Chartered has been appointed as the digital asset custodian for LMAX Group through its Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)-regulated Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch and Standard Chartered Luxembourg S.A.  

The appointment makes LMAX Group the first client to join Standard Chartered Luxembourg’s digital asset custody platform following the bank’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) authorisation in June 2026.  

Ole Matthiessen, Global Head of Transaction Services and Digital Assets at Standard Chartered, said, “As institutional clients continue to scale their digital asset businesses, they need trusted infrastructure that can operate seamlessly across markets and regulatory regimes.” 

He noted that integrating custody services in Luxembourg and the DIFC with the bank’s broader trading and prime broking capabilities would help advance the development of an institutional digital asset ecosystem. 

The latest agreement builds on an existing collaboration between the two firms. In July 2026, Standard Chartered and LMAX Group executed what they described as the industry’s first live digital asset prime broking trades, combining the bank’s banking, credit and custody capabilities with LMAX Group’s institutional digital asset market infrastructure. 

Under the expanded partnership, Standard Chartered will provide regulated digital asset custody and settlement services to support LMAX Group’s growing institutional digital asset business.  

The dual custody arrangement across Luxembourg and the DIFC is expected to provide the firm with access to regulated infrastructure in two major financial centres, serving institutional clients across Europe and the Middle East. 

David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, said that the expanded custody mandate as the next step in the companies’ relationship following their earlier prime broking collaboration. He said access to regulated custody services in both Luxembourg and the DIFC would provide institutional-grade infrastructure to support the firm’s digital asset business and client requirements. 

As part of the broader partnership, both companies are exploring the development of off-exchange custody solutions aimed at combining secure bank-grade asset safekeeping with direct access to institutional digital asset liquidity.

The initiative is intended to enable market participants to retain custody of assets with a regulated financial institution while accessing trading opportunities, helping address key requirements around security, operational efficiency and risk management in institutional digital asset markets. 

The move reflects growing demand from institutional investors for regulated digital asset infrastructure as digital asset adoption continues to expand across global financial markets.