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BTC 
ETH Standard Chartered Bank becomes the first global systemically important bank to provide institutional spot cryptocurrency trading in United Arab Emirates
Standard Chartered Bank has officially launched institutional cryptocurrency trading services for Bitcoin and Ethereum through its Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) branch. The move makes the bank the first Global Systematically Important Bank (G-SIB) in the market to provide such capabilities. Eligible customers can obtain deliverable crypto assets rather than derivatives through electronic channels, which are the same as the bank's existing foreign exchange trading interface.
Implement deliverable spot trading
Institutional investors can use Standard Chartered Bank's electronic platform to conduct spot trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Because these interfaces already support traditional currency transactions, there is no need to establish a separate execution system, thereby reducing operational complexity.
Standard Chartered Bank allows customers to choose the settlement custodian for each transaction independently. Options include the bank's regulated United Arab Emirates digital asset custody service. This structure separates transaction execution from asset storage when the institution uses other custodians.
Rola Abu Manneh, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank's United Arab Emirates, Middle East and Pakistan, linked this expansion to the local regulatory framework. She said the service combines transaction execution, custody, governance and the bank's global network advantages.
DIFC platform integrates mature transaction and custody infrastructure
The launch of the transaction service complements the custody infrastructure introduced in September 2024. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has licensed the bank's custody services within the DIFC. The hosting service initially supported Bitcoin and Ethereum, with Brevan Howard Digital becoming one of the first customers.
In addition, Standard Chartered Bank launched a collateral mirroring arrangement in cooperation with OKX in April 2025. Institutions can deposit eligible assets in banks while using mirror balances for exchange transactions. This arrangement ensures that collateral is not kept on the exchange.
In April 2026, the framework further added BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized treasury bond fund. Eligible clients retain ownership and income rights to the fund, while OKX is responsible for margin management and clearing. Brevan Howard and Franklin Templeton supported the original United Arab Emirates project.
Standard Chartered Bank first launched an institutional-level deliverable spot trading service through its UK branch in July 2025, which also routes encrypted transactions through existing foreign exchange interfaces. Christopher Parsons, senior executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank DIFC branch, said DIFC supports the regional deployment of global services, giving customers the option of settling through banks or other custodians.
Standard Chartered Bank's broader digital asset business covers trading, custody and tokenization. Zodia Markets provides trading infrastructure for institutions, while Libeara develops tokenized products.
