After launching its digital asset custody service in the UAE in September, Standard Chartered has now created a digital asset custody subsidiary in Luxembourg. It will serve clients in compliance with the EU’s MiCA regulations for cryptocurrency as well as servicing other digital assets.
To date Luxembourg is one of the main EU destinations for the issuance of tokenized bonds and funds.
The new CEO is Laurent Marochini, who was formerly Head of Innovation at Societe Generale Securities Services, based in Luxembourg. At the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) he also co chairs the working group on blockchain and cryptocurrency.
“We are really excited to be able to offer our digital asset custody services to the EU region, enabling us to support our clients with a product that is changing the landscape of traditional finance, whilst also providing the level of security that comes with being an appropriately regulated entity,” said Margaret Harwood-Jones, Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Financing & Securities Services. “We are incredibly proud to be paving the way for our institutional clients to access the digital asset ecosystem.”
When it launched in the UAE, one of its first clients was the OKX crypto exchange, where the bank is the custodian for institutional clients.
Standard Chartered appears to compete with one of its indirect subsidiaries, Zodia Custody. Zodia was founded in 2020 by Standard Chartered, with Northern Trust as a minority shareholder. It first gained regulatory approval in 2021. Since then, it has diversified its backers to include Japan’s SBI, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Emirates NBD, although Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures retains a controlling interest. SC Venture’s goal is for its subsidiaries to operate independently of the main bank.
