DUBAI, April 28, 2026 — OKX said Tuesday it launched a joint framework with BlackRock and Standard Chartered that allows eligible OKX VIP and institutional clients to use BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized short-term U.S. Treasury fund as collateral for trading while assets are held in off-exchange custody.
The companies said eligible clients can post BUIDL as collateral held with Standard Chartered in regulated custody while trading on OKX Middle East. BUIDL can also be deposited on-exchange and used as yield-bearing collateral for margin trading.
The companies said the arrangement marks the first time a globally systemically important bank, or G-SIB, has acted as custodian in such a framework.
Off-exchange collateral structure
Under the model, collateral is held outside the exchange with Standard Chartered rather than transferred onto the trading venue. The companies said the structure is designed to separate client collateral from exchange assets while allowing trading activity on OKX Middle East.
They said the framework is intended to address institutional demand for greater protection, capital efficiency and regulated custody arrangements in digital-asset markets.
Tokenized treasury fund utility
BUIDL is BlackRock’s tokenized short-term Treasury fund. According to the announcement, the fund is issued on a public blockchain and invests in cash, U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, with yield distributed on-chain.
Its use as collateral expands the role of tokenized real-world assets beyond passive holdings into margining, liquidity management and trading workflows.
Institutional market infrastructure
The launch combines BlackRock’s tokenized fund, Standard Chartered’s custody infrastructure and OKX’s trading and margin systems in a single framework.
The companies said the initiative follows institutional testing and integration work.
