LMAX Group First to Join StanChart Crypto Custody Platform

Standard Chartered has announced its appointment as LMAX Group’s digital asset custodian through the bank’s DFSA-regulated Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch and Standard Chartered Luxembourg.

LMAX Group is 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, and builds on the firms’ execution of the industry’s first live digital asset prime brokerage trades in July 2026.

The firms say they are exploring the development of off-exchange custody solutions  designed to combine the safety of bank-grade custody with access to institutional digital asset liquidity. The initiative aims to address one of the industry’s most important requirements: enabling market participants to access trading opportunities whilst maintaining custody of their assets with a trusted and regulated financial institution, supporting the next phase of institutional adoption through enhanced security, operational efficiency and risk management.

Under the expanded partnership across custody and settlement, Standard Chartered will provide secure digital asset custody services to support LMAX Group’s institutional digital asset business. The dual appointments through DIFC and Luxembourg provides LMAX with access to regulated custody solutions across key international financial centres, supporting the firm’s expanding institutional client base across the Middle East and Europe.

“As institutional clients continue to scale their digital asset businesses, they need trusted infrastructure that can operate seamlessly across markets and regulatory regimes,” says Ole Matthiessen, global head, transaction services & digital assets, Standard Chartered. “By combining bank-grade custody in DIFC and Luxembourg with our broader trading and prime brokerage capabilities, Standard Chartered is helping to shape a connected, institutionalised digital asset ecosystem. We are pleased to partner with clients such as LMAX Group as they expand their digital asset proposition across markets.”

David Mercer, CEO, LMAX Group, add, “Standard Chartered is establishing itself as one of the leading banking partners for the institutional digital asset market. Following our successful collaboration in digital asset prime brokerage, this expanded custody partnership represents a natural next step. The combination of their regulated custody capabilities in both the DIFC and Luxembourg provides us, and the industry more broadly, with robust, institutional-grade infrastructure to support the continued growth of our digital asset business and the evolving needs of our clients.”