Standard Chartered Adds Ripple’s RLUSD to Custody

Standard Chartered has added Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin to its custody services through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch. The bank announced the service on Oct. 12, after RLUSD’s market capitalization increased by $765.3 million in the third quarter.

Eligible institutional clients can hold RLUSD issued on the XRP Ledger through the branch, which is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

The custody service is part of a broader arrangement involving Standard Chartered, Ripple and trading group LMAX. Under the proposed system, Standard Chartered would mirror the value of eligible RLUSD holdings to LMAX. Clients could then use that value to support trading positions without transferring the stablecoins to LMAX.

The collateral arrangement has not started. The companies have not announced a launch date, and the plan remains subject to final documentation, technical testing, regulatory requirements and internal approvals in the relevant jurisdictions.

RLUSD’s circulating supply is about $2.4 billion, according to DeFiLlama data. About $1.14 billion is issued on the XRP Ledger and about $1.3 billion on Ethereum.

RLUSD recorded the second-largest increase in stablecoin market capitalization during the third quarter, according to the RWA Foundation. USDC added $915 million during the period, while United Stables added $474.2 million.

Ripple and LMAX announced a multiyear partnership in January to expand RLUSD across institutional trading products. Ripple committed $150 million in financing to support LMAX’s expansion. The agreement covers spot cryptocurrency trading, perpetual futures, contracts for difference and other products.

Standard Chartered’s service would give banks, brokers and investment firms a banking channel for holding RLUSD while accessing LMAX’s trading infrastructure. Waqar Chaudry, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets in Securities Services, pointed to institutional demand for digital-asset access alongside asset protection and risk controls.

Standard Chartered has not disclosed how much RLUSD it will hold in custody or identified participating clients. The companies have not said which LMAX products will accept RLUSD or when the collateral integration will become operational.