Standard Chartered has introduced custody services for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, positioning the asset for broader use as collateral in institutional trading.
On October 12, the bank announced that qualifying institutional clients may hold RLUSD issued on the XRP Ledger via its Dubai International Financial Centre branch, which is overseen by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
This launch is part of a wider agreement with Ripple and trading firm LMAX that enables institutions to employ RLUSD as collateral while retaining custody of their stablecoin holdings at Standard Chartered.
Under the proposed framework, the bank will mirror the value of qualifying RLUSD holdings to LMAX, allowing clients to back trading positions without moving the actual tokens to the trading venue.
The arrangement may lower counterparty exposure and operational risks linked to shifting assets between custodians and exchanges, while giving institutions the flexibility to allocate capital across various trading activities.
Ripple expands RLUSD’s institutional reach after rapid supply growth
This development follows RLUSD’s emergence as one of the fastest‑growing stablecoins in terms of absolute market‑value added, underscoring Ripple’s push to broaden its adoption across financial markets.
According to the RWA Foundation, Ripple posted the second‑largest rise in stablecoin market capitalization during the third quarter, gaining $765.3 million over a 90‑day period.
Only Circle’s USDC recorded a larger gain, at $915 million, while United Stables came in third with $474.2 million.
Data from DeFiLlama indicates that RLUSD’s total circulating supply has risen to roughly $2.4 billion, with approximately $1.14 billion issued on the XRP Ledger and another $1.3 billion on Ethereum.
The expansion provides Ripple with a larger pool of dollar‑denominated tokens as it works to position RLUSD for uses beyond payments and transfers, including as collateral for institutional trading.
That effort gathered momentum in January when Ripple and LMAX unveiled a multi‑year partnership to integrate RLUSD across the trading group’s infrastructure.
Ripple pledged $150 million in financing to support LMAX’s expansion, with the agreement aiming to drive RLUSD adoption in spot crypto trading, perpetual futures, contracts for difference, and other institutional products.
Standard Chartered’s participation introduces a traditional banking custody channel to the arrangement, enabling participating institutions to keep custody with the bank while accessing LMAX’s trading infrastructure.
Waqar Chaudry, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets in Securities Services, noted that institutional investors increasingly seek exposure to digital asset markets without sacrificing asset safeguarding or risk management.
For Ripple, accepting RLUSD as trading collateral could stimulate additional demand from banks, brokers, and investment firms that require dollar‑denominated assets to back their positions.
However, the commercial impact will hinge on how broadly institutions adopt the arrangement and which LMAX products ultimately accept the stablecoin.
Standard Chartered has not disclosed the amount of RLUSD held in custody or named the participating institutional clients.
The companies have also not announced when the collateral integration will become operational; implementation remains contingent on final documentation, technical testing, regulatory clearances, and internal approvals across the relevant jurisdictions.
These remaining steps will determine when institutions can start using RLUSD held at Standard Chartered to back trading positions on LMAX.
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