Don't want to trade it yourself?
Our desk runs DEX portfolios on profit share.
Standard Chartered (LON: STAN) has expanded its digital-asset services in the United Arab Emirates, introducing institutional spot trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum through its Dubai International Financial Centre unit.
The bank said the offering makes it the first global systemically important bank to provide this type of service in the UAE and the only global lender currently offering institutional digital-asset spot trading in the region.
The product is available to eligible institutional clients through Standard Chartered DIFC, which is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Clients can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether for delivery, rather than gaining exposure through derivatives.
Trading is routed through the bank’s existing electronic channels and is designed to sit inside the same platforms institutions already use for foreign-exchange activity.
That integration is intended to reduce operational friction by letting clients access crypto markets through familiar interfaces instead of opening a separate venue.
Settlement is flexible. Clients can complete trades with a custodian of their choosing, including Standard Chartered’s own digital-asset custody service, which the bank launched in the UAE in September 2024.
Adding execution to that custody business creates a more complete institutional pathway: clients can hold assets with a regulated bank and also trade them through the same institution.
The UAE launch follows a similar service the bank first introduced through its UK branch in July 2025.
At that time, Standard Chartered said it had become the first G-SIB to offer deliverable spot trading in Bitcoin and Ether to institutional clients.
Extending the model into the Gulf reflects the bank’s effort to transplant an established capability into a market where it has already been building custody and related digital-asset infrastructure.
Bank executives framed the move as a response to the UAE’s regulatory environment.
Rola Abu Manneh, chief executive for the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan, said the country has developed a clear framework that supports institutional participation and innovation.
Combining execution with custody, governance, and the connectivity of a global bank, she said, gives clients a more integrated way to take part in digital-asset markets.
Christopher Parsons, senior executive officer at Standard Chartered DIFC, added that the centre offers an established platform for international banks to deploy global capabilities across markets.
The new trading desk also sits within a wider digital-assets strategy.
Standard Chartered has been developing custody, trading, and tokenisation services through its Corporate and Investment Bank, while related ventures such as Zodia Markets and Libeara extend parts of that offering.
The bank presents these pieces as regulated infrastructure for institutions that want exposure to digital assets without relying solely on crypto-native exchanges.
For asset managers, family offices, and other professional clients in the Gulf, the practical change is straightforward.
Spot Bitcoin and Ether can now be executed through a global bank already used for traditional markets, with the option to settle into bank-grade custody.
That does not make the service available to retail customers, and it remains limited to eligible institutions.
Still, the launch is a notable step in the UAE’s effort to position itself as a regulated centre for digital-asset activity, and it gives institutions another way to trade the two largest cryptocurrencies through conventional banking rails.
Have a crowdfunding offering you’d like to share? Submit an offering for consideration using our Submit a Tip form and we may share it on our site!
Source: www.crowdfundinsider.com