UAE Gets First Institutional Crypto Spot Trading from Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered has expanded its digital-asset offerings in the UAE by launching a spot trading service for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The bank announced that eligible clients can now buy and sell cryptocurrencies through its existing FX platforms, making it the first global systemically important bank to provide institutional spot trading in the UAE with cryptocurrency.

The new service allows customers to execute trades using any custodian they wish, including Standard Chartered's own digital assets custody offering in the DIFC. Traders can use the bank's single-dealer trading platform or FIX connectivity to make their trades, and the service will run on the existing infrastructure at Standard Chartered.

This launch comes after the bank offered deliverable spot Bitcoin and Ether trades via its UK subsidiary in July 2025. The UAE facility offers a similar approach to the DIFC, one of the leading financial hubs in the Gulf region.