Standard Chartered Expands Institutional Crypto Trading to UAE

Standard Chartered has expanded its institutional Bitcoin and Ether trading capabilities to the UAE through its DIFC branch, providing eligible clients with direct access to deliverable crypto trades via the bank's existing electronic trading systems.

The service allows institutional clients to trade BTC and ETH directly within the regulated banking environment of Standard Chartered, without having to hold their assets with the bank. Instead, clients can settle transactions through a custodian of their choice, including Standard Chartered's own UAE digital asset custody service.

This move makes Standard Chartered the first Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) to offer institutional digital asset spot trading in the UAE and extends its direct institutional crypto trading business, which was launched in the UK last year. The bank has been building separate trading and custody capabilities in the UAE since 2024.

Rola Abu Manneh, CEO for the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, said that the country's regulatory framework had supported institutional participation in digital assets. She emphasized the importance of combining execution with custody, governance, and the bank's international network to provide a more integrated route into digital asset markets.

Standard Chartered has also established a digital asset custody platform in the UAE, which supports Bitcoin and Ether as its first assets. The bank's UK branch introduced institutional trading through its existing FX interfaces last year, becoming the first G-SIB to offer deliverable Bitcoin and Ether spot trading to institutional clients.