Standard Chartered's UAE Crypto Launch Fails to Spark Earnings Hopes
Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) shares remained steady in early London trading after announcing the launch of institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading in the United Arab Emirates. The bank's stock price was 2,229 pence at 9:32:08 a.m. BST on September 4, down only 0.04% from Thursday's close.
The muted move is consistent with Standard Chartered's announcement, which provided little detail on trading volume targets, client counts, fee schedules, or revenue forecasts. The bank has established a first for a global systemically important bank in the UAE by allowing eligible institutions to trade deliverable BTC/USD and ETH/USD through its DIFC branch.
The bank's chief executive for the UAE, Middle East, and Pakistan, Rola Abu Manneh, said that the combination of execution and custody services gives clients 'a more integrated way to participate in digital asset markets.' The bank has not disclosed where it will report revenue from this new service.