Crypto exchange OKX has integrated BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized US Treasury fund into its collateral framework in partnership with Standard Chartered, allowing institutional and VIP clients to use the yield-bearing asset as trading margin while keeping it off-exchange with the bank.
Announced Tuesday, the setup enables clients to post BUIDL as collateral held in custody at Standard Chartered while trading on OKX Middle East, or alternatively deposit it directly on the platform. The firms described the arrangement as the first off-exchange tokenized collateral framework backed by a globally systemically important (G-SIB) bank.
The move reflects a broader industry push to transform tokenized real-world assets into functional market infrastructure. By allowing a yield-generating fund to serve as collateral while remaining under regulated custody, the framework highlights how tokenized cash-like instruments can be actively used in trading and risk management.
It builds on OKX’s existing collateral mirroring program with Standard Chartered, launched last year to support its European expansion. According to Rifad Mahasneh, CEO of OKX for the Middle East, North Africa, and CIS regions, the key advancement is enabling tokenized assets to be actively deployed within trading systems rather than simply held.
Within OKX’s margin system, BUIDL is treated similarly to USD, USDC, and other dollar-backed stablecoins, while clients retain full ownership of the asset and continue earning its yield.
Competition heats up in tokenized collateral
The initiative also strengthens OKX’s positioning against rivals like Binance, which has similarly incorporated tokenized treasury products—including BlackRock’s BUIDL and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund—into off-exchange collateral frameworks.
Mahasneh said the framework is already live for eligible institutional and VIP clients via OKX Middle East, with plans to expand into additional jurisdictions as demand grows.
He described the setup as distinctive in combining regulated custody, a major asset manager, and a globally systemically important bank, adding that OKX is “the only global digital asset exchange” to offer such a structure.
BlackRock’s BUIDL fund—tokenized by Securitize—invests in cash, US Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements, with yield distributed onchain, according to the announcement.
Under the framework, Standard Chartered acts as the off-exchange custodian, holding client collateral separately from OKX’s own assets. Meanwhile, the exchange handles real-time margining and liquidation through its internal risk systems. Mahasneh noted that the structure is designed to align with traditional finance standards, though specific margin call procedures during periods of market stress were not disclosed.
