Standard Chartered Launches Spot Bitcoin, Ether Trading for UAE Institutions

Standard Chartered ($STAN) has launched spot trading in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) and Ether (CRYPTO: $ETH) for institutional clients in the United Arab Emirates, making it the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to offer the service in the country.

In a Thursday announcement, the bank said that eligible institutional clients can trade BTC and ETH through its electronic trading channels integrated into the bank’s existing platforms, allowing clients to access crypto trading through the same foreign exchange interfaces they already use.

Unlike futures or other derivatives, spot trading involves buying and selling the underlying asset for delivery.

• MEXC Launches Earn Plus With Limited-Time Event Offering Up to 800% APR Booster

• Kalshi Expands Internationally With Alpaca Brokerage Partnership

• <a href="https://www.cryptoprowl.com/releases/mexc-data-btc-breaks-80000-major-asset-spot-trading-volume-surges-300-6583?ref=yahoo&refid=52″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>MEXC Data: BTC Breaks $80,000, Major-Asset Spot Trading Volume Surges 300%

“Extending our Bitcoin and Ether spot trading capability to institutional clients is a significant step in broadening our regulated digital asset proposition in the market,” Rola Abu Manneh, Standard Chartered’s chief executive for the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan, said.

The UAE service also expands Standard Chartered’s existing digital asset business in the country. The bank began offering digital asset custody in September 2024, and clients using the new trading service can settle their trades with a custodian of their choice, including Standard Chartered’s own custody platform.

Standard Chartered first began institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading through its UK branch in July 2025. At the time, it became the first G-SIB to offer deliverable spot trading in the two cryptocurrencies to institutional clients.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $79,775, up by 3.47% over the past day, while Ether is changing hands at $2,455, up 2.52%.

Simon-Peter Massabni, Head of Global Sales at XS.com, told Cryptoprowl that rising oil prices linked to Middle East tensions have revived inflation concerns, while higher US and Japanese bond yields have reduced expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts and made traditional fixed-income assets more attractive.

Source: finance.yahoo.com