LMAX Group names Standard Chartered as digital asset custodian in DIFC and Luxembourg
LMAX Group has appointed Standard Chartered as its digital asset custodian through the bank's DFSA-regulated DIFC Branch and Standard Chartered Luxembourg S.A., becoming the first client on the Luxembourg custody platform after its June 2026 MiCA authorisation. The firms are also exploring off-exchange custody, without a launch date.
View original sourceTwo custody appointments
In a 16 September 2026 announcement dated London, Luxembourg and Dubai, LMAX Group said it had appointed Standard Chartered as its digital asset custodian through the DFSA-regulated Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Branch and through Standard Chartered Luxembourg S.A. The bank is to provide digital asset custody services supporting LMAX Group's institutional digital asset business, and the group said the dual appointments give it access to regulated custody solutions across the Middle East and Europe for its institutional client base. LMAX Group described itself as a global cross-asset marketplace for FX and digital assets, and said it was 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. The announcement did not name the authorising regulator, the assets or account types covered by the custody arrangement, or the commercial terms.
Built on earlier prime brokerage work
The appointment extends a collaboration the firms announced in July 2026, when they said they had executed the first live digital asset prime brokerage trades, combining Standard Chartered's banking, credit and custody capabilities with LMAX Group's digital asset market infrastructure. The characterisation of those trades as an industry first is the firms' own; the announcement provided no independent confirmation or transaction data.
Off-exchange custody still under exploration
The firms said they are exploring the development of off-exchange custody solutions intended to combine bank-grade custody with access to institutional digital asset liquidity, so that market participants can pursue trading opportunities while keeping assets with a regulated financial institution. The initiative was presented as exploratory: no launch date, product structure, approvals or client eligibility terms were disclosed. Ole Matthiessen, Standard Chartered's Global Head, Transaction Services & Digital Assets, framed the arrangement around clients operating "across markets and regulatory regimes", while Margaret Harwood-Jones, Chair of the Board of Standard Chartered Luxembourg S.A., called LMAX Group the first client on the Luxembourg platform.
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