Standard Chartered Opens Crypto Trading in UAE

Standard Chartered Takes a Big Step into Crypto

Standard Chartered is making it easier for its affluent clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to buy and sell cryptocurrency.

Starting this week, eligible clients can buy and sell BitcoinBTC-1.53% and EthereumETH-2.72% directly from their existing bank accounts.

This move makes Standard Chartered the first major international bank in the UAE to offer direct crypto trading to wealth clients.

How the Direct Trading Service Works

In the past, bank clients who wanted exposure to crypto had to rely on separate digital wallets or sign up for third-party exchanges.

Now, everything stays within the bank's existing infrastructure.

Standard Chartered handles both the custody (safekeeping) and settlement of the assets through what it calls a closed-loop model.

To build this service, the bank combined efforts from its Wealth and Retail Banking unit and its Corporate and Investment Banking division.

They worked closely with Zodia Markets, a digital asset trading firm backed by the bank's venture arm, SC Ventures.

By keeping storage and execution in-house, the bank aims to reduce client exposure to third-party wallet risks.

While bank custody removes third-party exchange risks, digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum remain subject to market volatility and price fluctuations.

Who Can Access the Service and Why the UAE?

Currently, the offering is open to clients classified as Professional Investors.

The bank launched the service after receiving official licensing approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

Bank leadership stressed that growing client demand was the main driver behind this project.

Samir Subberwal, Global Head of Wealth Solutions, Retail Products, Data and Analytics at Standard Chartered, noted that client interest in digital assets continues to rise.

He explained that investors now want the safety and trust that come with using a regulated financial institution.

Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer for the UAE, Middle East, and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, said the UAE was a natural location choice.

She highlighted the country's progressive regulatory environment and its role as one of the bank's four main global wealth hubs.

Standard Chartered plans to expand direct crypto trading to other global markets in the future, though it has not shared a specific timeline yet.

From Indirect Products to Actual Coin Ownership

Before this launch, wealth clients at Standard Chartered could only access crypto through indirect routes.

These options included crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the cash equities platform, structured products, or over-the-counter derivatives.

With the new setup, clients can hold actual Bitcoin and Ethereum coins, which are safely managed by the bank.

This shifts client options from financial instruments that track prices to direct ownership of the underlying assets.

Standard Chartered's Broader Crypto Journey

This move builds upon a broader strategy by Standard Chartered to develop digital asset services globally.

At first, the bank focused mainly on serving major institutional clients.

In July 2025, it became the first global systemically important bank—a designation given to major lenders critical to global finance—to offer spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading to institutional clients via its U.K. branch.

It recently brought that institutional trading desk to the UAE through its unit in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which operates under the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

The bank also launched crypto custody services in the UAE in September 2024, expanding into the European Union through Luxembourg a few months later.

Market Analysis and Projections

Standard Chartered's research desk has often taken a positive view on digital assets.

For context, Geoff Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, previously suggested that the market downturn had settled after Bitcoin dipped to nearly $59,000, down from its peak of $126,000 in October 2025.

Past performance of digital assets is not an indicator of future returns.

Analysts at the bank have previously discussed a $100,000 year-end price target for Bitcoin.

Such price projections depend on specific market assumptions, including sustained institutional inflows and stable macroeconomic conditions.

If broader market liquidity shrinks or regulatory pressures increase, crypto prices could experience significant downward corrections instead of reaching those targets.