Back in January, crypto researcher SMQKE (@SMQKEDQG) shared several documents indicating a growing partnership between Ripple and Standard Chartered. While that post drew notice then, it was fully validated on October 12.
Through its Dubai branch, Standard Chartered rolled out institutional custody offerings for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. Furthermore, the bank revealed intentions to weave RLUSD into the trading infrastructure of LMAX Group by utilizing a collateral mirroring framework.
The Evidence SMQKE Highlighted
The materials brought to light in January revealed a multi-year history of collaboration between Standard Chartered and Ripple.
One slide designated Standard Chartered as an advisor within Ripple’s governance network, sharing space with institutions such as Bank of America, Santander, MUFG, Westpac, and RBC. This diagram outlined tiers encompassing Governance, Rule Sets, Messaging, and Settlement Infrastructure, positioning the Ripple API at the peak.
Another document detailed how Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Santander, UniCredit, Standard Chartered, Westpac, and the Royal Bank of Canada formed the initial roster of the Global Payments Steering Group. This collective was created to shape guidelines and governance governing the application of Ripple technology in worldwide transactions.
An additional source named Standard Chartered as a fellow investor in Ripple alongside Google and Goldman Sachs, while verifying that the bank ranked among more than 100 financial entities trialing Ripple in test mode.
One more excerpt directly featured Ripple addressing scalability. “To deploy something for Standard Chartered, Santander or Bank of America, our solution needs to scale to hundreds of thousands of transactions per second,” the firm remarked.
This partnership was never concealed; it was merely awaiting the opportune time to bear fruit.
How the Pieces Connect
Standard Chartered officially launched institutional RLUSD custody via its DIFC branch located in Dubai on October 12. The institution verified its ongoing collaboration with Ripple and LMAX Group concerning a collateral setup that maintains tokens within bank storage while LMAX verifies asset valuation for trading purposes.
The groundwork was laid by Ripple’s previous $150 million investment in LMAX, upon which Standard Chartered’s custody framework now builds.
A Stronger Case for XRP
Because RLUSD functions on the XRP Ledger, every entity that acquires, stores, or trades the stablecoin boosts network activity. Standard Chartered’s involvement introduces institutional-grade architecture to the ecosystem, while LMAX introduces professional trading volume. Combined, they establish a compliant channel powered entirely by Ripple’s technology.
As institutions embrace RLUSD more widely, the need for XRP Ledger capacity expands in tandem, presenting a fundamentally sound rationale for XRP that steers clear of mere speculation.