Standard Chartered Launches Institutional Crypto Trading in UAE
Standard Chartered has expanded its institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading services to the UAE. The bank's arm in Dubai, Standard Chartered DIFC, is now offering deliverable spot trading for these two assets through its electronic channels.
The service, which was first introduced by the bank's UK branch in July 2025, allows clients to take possession of the underlying Bitcoin and Ether at settlement. They can also settle through a custodian of their choice, including Standard Chartered's own digital asset custody solution that went live in September 2024.
Rola Abu Manneh, CEO for the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, said that the UAE has developed a clear digital assets regulatory framework that supports institutional participation and innovation. She added that pairing execution with custody, governance, and global connectivity gives clients a more integrated way to participate in digital asset markets.
Standard Chartered DIFC is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and combines the bank's global markets network with a regulated base for serving clients across the region. The trading service sits inside a broader digital asset strategy that spans custody, trading, and tokenization through Standard Chartered's Corporate and Investment Bank.
The bank has already let institutional clients mint and redeem USDC directly through its DIFC platform, a service built with Circle. SC Ventures, the innovation arm of Standard Chartered, has also backed a $100 million digital asset joint venture in the UAE with Japan's SBI Holdings that targets market infrastructure, compliance tools, DeFi, and tokenization.