TL;DR:
- OKX integrated BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund as trading collateral under Standard Chartered custody for institutional clients.
- Clients can use BUIDL as operating margin while retaining ownership of the asset and its yield, without locking up unproductive capital.
- The structure is described as the first tokenized off-exchange collateral framework backed by a global systemically important bank.
OKX incorporated the tokenized U.S. Treasury bond fund BUIDL, from BlackRock, into its collateral program with Standard Chartered, allowing institutional and VIP clients to use that yield-bearing asset as trading margin while it remains in regulated custody outside the exchange.
The arrangement operates under two modalities: clients can deposit BUIDL directly into OKX or leave it in Standard Chartered’s custody while trading on OKX Middle East. Both companies stated that the scheme is the first tokenized off-exchange collateral framework backed by a global systemically important bank, a category known as a G-SIB.
Why Tokenize Collateral?
The initiative targets a classic structural problem: cash deposited as margin on cryptocurrency exchanges has historically remained idle, generating no yield while being locked up as collateral at the same time. By converting that capital into shares of a money market fund backed by Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, the structure allows institutions to keep their capital productive even while using it to back active positions.
BUIDL is treated as fungible with USD, USDC and other dollar-denominated stablecoins within the exchange’s margin system. Rifad Mahasneh, CEO of OKX for the Middle East, North Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States, explained that clients retain full ownership of the underlying asset and its yield, and emphasized that the goal is to demonstrate how tokenized assets can be actively integrated into trading systems rather than held passively.
OKX Competes for the Institutional Market
OKX competes fiercely with exchanges such as Binance, which has also incorporated tokenized treasury products, including BUIDL and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund, into its off-exchange collateral frameworks.
The BUIDL fund, tokenized by Securitize, invests in cash, U.S. Treasury bills and repos, and its yield is distributed on-chain. Standard Chartered acts as external custodian, keeping client collateral separate from the exchange’s own assets, while the exchange manages margin and liquidation processes in real time through its internal risk systems.
