Standard Chartered Launches Spot Bitcoin and Ether Trading for Institutions in the UAE
Key Takeaways
- •Standard Chartered launched spot Bitcoin and Ether trading for institutional clients in the UAE via its DIFC-regulated entity.
- •The bank is the first global bank and first G-SIB to offer institutional digital asset trading in the region.
- •Eligible clients can trade through the bank's electronic channels integrated into its existing platforms.
- •Standard Chartered previously launched digital asset custody in the UAE in September 2024 and signed a banking agreement with CoinMENA in June.
- •Other firms, including Capital.com and Revolut, are also pursuing UAE virtual-asset licenses from regulators such as VARA and the CMA.
London-headquartered multinational bank Standard Chartered has launched spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) trading for institutional clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), operating through its entity regulated by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the emirate's financial free zone governed by its own independent regulator, the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
According to a Thursday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the move makes Standard Chartered the first global bank to offer institutional digital asset trading in the region, as well as the first Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) — the tier of the world's most closely supervised banks designated by the Financial Stability Board — to provide a similar offering. The designation is notable because G-SIBs operate under stringent capital and risk requirements, which have historically made direct crypto trading desks rare among major global banks.
Eligible institutional clients will be able to trade spot Bitcoin and Ether through Standard Chartered's electronic trading channels, which are integrated into the bank's existing platforms.
The launch expands Standard Chartered's regulated crypto asset offering in the region. The bank previously introduced digital asset custody services in the UAE in September 2024. In June, Standard Chartered entered into a banking agreement with crypto exchange CoinMENA, enabling the exchange to use the bank to support fiat on- and off-ramps, client money accounts, and virtual account-based transaction management.
Other cryptocurrency companies and trading platforms are also pursuing regulatory approval to launch digital asset offerings in the UAE, where multiple regulators — including VARA in Dubai and the federal Securities and Commodities Authority — have established licensing frameworks for virtual assets. In August, trading platform Capital.com revealed plans to offer spot crypto services to clients in the UAE and secured a virtual-asset license from the country's Capital Market Authority (CMA). Earlier, in July, neobank Revolut received in-principle approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to offer crypto-related services in the region. Whether further global banks follow Standard Chartered into institutional spot crypto trading in Gulf markets remains to be seen.
Related: Standard Chartered wavers on $100K Bitcoin year-end call, says it may be 'too low'
Source: Cointelegraph
