Standard Chartered opens UAE crypto trading to wealth clients

Standard Chartered has opened Bitcoin and Ether trading to eligible wealthy clients in the United Arab Emirates, letting them buy and sell the assets through existing bank accounts. The launch moves the bank beyond crypto-linked investment products into direct access to the assets, with custody and settlement handled within its own system. The bank announced the service on Oct. 14.

According to Standard Chartered’s announcement, the offering is regulated by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and will initially be available to clients classified as Professional Investors in the UAE. The bank says it has received licensing approval from VARA. It describes the service as the first cryptocurrency trading offering by an international bank in the country.

How does trading through a bank account work?

Clients can buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) through their existing Standard Chartered accounts. The bank says transactions execute within its ecosystem, where it manages custody and settlement end to end in a “closed-loop” model. Clients do not need a separate wallet or third-party platform to access the service.

The product was developed across Standard Chartered’s Wealth and Retail Banking and Corporate and Investment Banking businesses, alongside SC Ventures-backed Zodia Markets. The bank says the arrangement brings custody, liquidity and client access together in one digital-asset ecosystem. It has not described the trade-matching process, where assets are held, or how clients fund and withdraw from the service.

Decrypt’s report on the launch also identifies custody and settlement as part of the bank’s closed-loop model. The bank says that model reduces exposure to third-party wallet risks. It does not remove the market risks of holding BTC or ETH; the announcement gives no detail on how the service handles failed transactions or custody recovery.

What changes for the bank’s wealth clients?

Before this launch, eligible clients could access crypto exposure through exchange-traded funds on Standard Chartered’s cash equities platform, as well as structured products and over-the-counter derivatives, the bank says. Those products provide exposure through an investment instrument. The new service gives clients a route to buy and sell BTC and ETH directly, with the bank holding the assets in custody.

The distinction is operational: an ETF or derivative represents exposure to a crypto asset, while this service is described as trading the asset itself. Standard Chartered’s announcement names BTC and ETH as the supported assets; it does not announce support for other cryptocurrencies. The bank has also not published fees, minimum trade sizes, transaction limits or a launch date for access beyond the initial Professional Investor group.

Who can use the service, and where might it expand?

For now, access is limited to UAE clients classified as Professional Investors. Standard Chartered says it plans to expand the offering to other markets over time, but has not given a timetable. The launch follows the bank’s earlier work on crypto access for institutional clients and adds a wealth-client channel to its UAE digital-asset services.

The UAE launch therefore changes the access path for a defined client group, not the underlying Bitcoin or Ethereum networks. Trades are arranged through the bank’s service, while the bank takes responsibility for custody and settlement within its ecosystem. The announcement does not specify whether clients can transfer purchased assets to external wallets, or whether holdings can be deposited from outside the service.

References

• Standard Chartered’s announcement — sc.com
• report on the launch — decrypt.co