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Ahmed Barakat
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Standard Chartered launched a crypto trading service in the UAE on 14 October, allowing eligible Professional Investor clients to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum through their existing bank accounts. The launch shifts access to the two assets into a regulated banking relationship, with custody and settlement handled inside the bank’s own closed-loop ecosystem.
Standard Chartered describes the crypto service as a global first for the bank and the first offering of its kind by an international bank in the UAE.
Clients will access Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) through their existing Standard Chartered accounts, without needing separate wallets or third-party trading platforms, according to the bank’s announcement. Trades are executed within its ecosystem, where Standard Chartered manages custody and settlement end to end.
The closed-loop structure is intended to reduce exposure to risks associated with third-party wallets. It also places the trading, custody and settlement functions within one banking setup, rather than requiring clients to move assets between a bank and an external crypto provider.
The bank says the offering combines institutional-grade custody, liquidity and client access in a single digital-asset ecosystem. It was developed through collaboration between Standard Chartered’s Wealth and Retail Banking and Corporate and Investment Banking businesses, alongside SC Ventures-backed Zodia Markets.
Samir Subberwal, Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Wealth Solutions, Retail Products, Data & Analytics, said the launch is a significant milestone for the bank as it brings digital assets into its core wealth offering amid growing client interest in digital assets.
The announcement does not specify trading fees, minimum investment amounts, transaction limits, client numbers or expected volumes. Nor does it describe the precise mechanics of execution or disclose whether clients can transfer purchased assets outside the bank’s ecosystem.
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UAE Approval, Standard Chartered, and Professional Investors
Standard Chartered says it received licensing approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The initial rollout is restricted to eligible Professional Investor clients in the UAE.
The UAE was selected, Standard Chartered said, because of its approach to innovation, regulatory environment and growing role in digital assets. Rola Abu Manneh, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer for the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan, said:
“The UAE was a natural choice for this launch, given the country’s forward-looking approach to innovation, strong regulatory environment and growing leadership in digital assets.” She also described the UAE as one of the bank’s four global wealth hubs.
The regulatory approval matters to the product’s structure: it places the new service within a UAE-authorised framework, while the Professional Investor restriction narrows who can use it. That distinction is central to the launch. The bank is adding crypto trading to a wealth relationship, but it has not announced a broad consumer product.
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Is Another Expansion In the Plan?
The bank says it plans to expand the offering to other markets over time, but has not named a destination or timetable. For now, the disclosed Standard Chartered service covers Bitcoin and Ethereum for eligible Professional Investors in the UAE.
The launch adds direct crypto trading to existing digital-asset access through the bank, which says its broader wealth capabilities already include cryptocurrency ETFs on its cash-equities platform and exposure through structured products and OTC derivatives.
The next concrete milestone will be any announcement identifying where the bank intends to extend this account-based trading model.
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