According to Reuters, Standard Chartered is offering the new service through its operations at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), becoming the first global bank to provide direct cryptocurrency spot trading to institutional clients in the UAE. The DIFC is a financial free zone with its own regulator, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), which has established a framework for crypto token activities for firms operating within the centre, and the launch also comes as the UAE more broadly has built out dedicated crypto oversight, including Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

The move gives corporate and institutional investors access to Bitcoin and Ethereum through the infrastructure of a traditional banking institution, and marks another step in Standard Chartered's broader strategy to expand its presence in digital assets.

Standard Chartered previously introduced spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum to institutional clients in the United Kingdom in 2025. The UAE launch extends that offering into one of the bank's key regional markets and is part of a wider pattern of global banks building digital-asset services for institutional clients as regulatory frameworks for crypto mature across jurisdictions.

Expanded Access to Bitcoin and Ethereum

The UAE service focuses initially on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the two digital assets covered by the bank's existing institutional spot trading offering.

By providing cryptocurrency trading through its DIFC operations, Standard Chartered aims to give institutional investors a more direct route into the crypto market without relying solely on specialist cryptocurrency exchanges.

The expansion reflects the bank's continued involvement in digital-asset services, following the introduction of institutional spot trading in the UK in 2025. The launch comes as financial institutions continue developing infrastructure aimed at connecting traditional capital markets with digital assets. In the UAE, Standard Chartered's service places cryptocurrency trading within its existing banking operations at the DIFC.

Standard Chartered Researcher Points to Solana's Stablecoin Activity

While Bitcoin and Ethereum are at the center of Standard Chartered's new UAE trading service, the bank's Head of Digital Asset Research, Geoff Kendrick, has separately highlighted Solana's role in the rapidly expanding stablecoin market. Stablecoins — digital tokens typically pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar — have grown into a major area of institutional and regulatory focus, with large payment firms and banks exploring their use for settlement and cross-border transfers.

Speaking on Solana's official "House of Sol" podcast, Kendrick said stablecoins process approximately $7 trillion in transactions each month, and estimated that Solana accounts for about one-fifth of that activity.

According to Kendrick, Solana's share demonstrates the network's relevance beyond decentralized finance and cryptocurrency trading, particularly as stablecoins are increasingly used for payments and other transaction-related applications. He also cited Solana's low transaction costs and high transaction capacity as factors supporting its use in stablecoin and micropayment applications.

The comments place Solana (SOL) among the blockchain networks being examined for payment and stablecoin-related activity, while Standard Chartered's latest UAE offering remains focused on direct institutional trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Source: bitcoinsistemi