Standard Chartered has introduced a cryptocurrency trading service for affluent clients in the United Arab Emirates, enabling eligible professional investors to buy and sell bitcoin and ether through their existing bank accounts.
The London-based lender said the offering represents the first time an international bank has provided direct cryptocurrency trading to wealthy clients in the UAE. For Standard Chartered globally, it marks the first instance of offering crypto trading directly to affluent clients in any market.
The bank will manage custody and settlement internally using a closed-loop model, eliminating the need for clients to maintain separate cryptocurrency wallets or use third-party trading platforms.
The service operates through Zodia Markets, backed by Standard Chartered's SC Ventures unit, and integrates the bank's wealth and retail banking with its corporate and investment banking divisions. The bank has received licensing approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
Standard Chartered previously launched institutional bitcoin and ether spot trading through its U.K. operations in July and expanded that service to the UAE in September. The bank already offers eligible clients access to cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives.
The bank plans to expand the new trading service to additional markets but has not disclosed a timeline for the expansion.
