This year’s Money20/20 USA, a key panel discussion flipped a long-standing narrative: crypto and traditional finance are not in a zero-sum battle. Instead, they are converging. In a session titled “Banks vs. Crypto vs. Asset Managers,”leaders from Circle, Northern Trust, Franklin Templeton, and Standard Chartered joined OKX President Hong Fang to present a powerful thesis: collaboration, not competition, is driving the next chapter of financial innovation.

As OKX tweeted shortly before the panel: “Banks, asset managers, and crypto aren’t rivals—they’re partners in progress.” That shift in tone is more than just a soundbite—it reflects a measurable pivot in how capital, custody, and compliance now intersect in a blockchain-driven future.

The mood among panelists was clear: institutions are no longer tinkering with digital asset proofs of concept, they’re actively re-architecting their operations to support blockchain-native assets.

Justin Chapman, Group Head at Northern Trust, captured this sentiment: “Proofs of concept don’t move the industry forward, collaboration does.” He added, “Our focus now is to ensure we can service any type of asset in any market.”

These are not vague aspirations. They reflect a deliberate pivot toward full-spectrum asset servicing, where traditional and digital assets co-exist within a unified institutional infrastructure. And few crypto-native platforms are more deeply embedded in this movement than OKX.

OKX’s Institutional Edge: What Collaboration Looks Like in Practice

Rather than waiting for traditional finance to embrace crypto, OKX has proactively built bridges, both technically and strategically. One example is its collateral mirroring partnership with Standard Chartered, launched earlier this year in the UAE. This first-of-its-kind service allows institutional clients to retain their assets in a Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) while mirroring balances into OKX for real-time trading.

Now, this service is expanding across the European Economic Area (EEA), a milestone that signals growing trust from both regulators and financial incumbents.

Hong Fang, OKX President, underscored the company’s approach: “Interoperability and innovation together are critical to how we build.” That mindset has allowed OKX to offer what institutions are now demanding: bank-grade custody, compliant frameworks, and real-time access to liquidity.

Why OKX’s Model Is Gaining Institutional Trust

OKX’s infrastructure does more than plug into banks, it adapts to the regulatory frameworks they operate in. With a MiCA license already secured in Europe, OKX stands out as one of the few exchanges capable of meeting institutional compliance benchmarks while still delivering Web3-native solutions.

The combination of regulatory clarity, proven innovation, and secure custodial partnerships positions OKX not just as a crypto platform, but as a strategic partner in institutional finance.

Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head at Standard Chartered, put it succinctly: “This expansion is about leveraging their custody infrastructure alongside our regulatory framework to ensure the highest standards of security and compliance.”

The Bigger Picture: What This Means for the Future of Finance

Moderated by Circle CMO Kash Razzaghi, the Money20/20 panel left no doubt that institutions now view blockchain as a fundamental part of the modern financial stack.

“In order for digital assets to thrive, you need all market participants to join hands,” said Razzaghi. That call for convergence was echoed by Jerry Zhang, Global Co-Head at Standard Chartered: “Partnerships aren’t optional—they’re essential.”

This isn’t just industry lip service. With digital asset trading volume, custody solutions, and tokenization infrastructure growing rapidly, institutional alignment around crypto is transitioning from conceptual to operational.

The next era of digital finance won’t be won by one side, crypto or banks. It will be built by those who can combine the strengths of both. With its regulatory foresight, technical infrastructure, and commitment to institutional-grade collaboration, OKX is showing what that future can look like.

It’s no longer a question of whether banks and crypto can work together. At Money20/20, OKX helped show that they already are.

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