Standard Chartered’s crypto trading service launched on October 14, 2026, giving eligible affluent clients in the United Arab Emirates direct access to bitcoin and ether through existing bank accounts. The offering keeps trading, custody and settlement inside the bank’s system, with no transfers to external wallets.
Key takeaways
- Eligible UAE Professional Investors can trade bitcoin and ether around the clock.
- Orders range from $50 to $50,000, with a pricing spread capped at 2%.
- Purchased coins remain bank-custodied but receive no deposit protection.
According to The Defiant, clients can buy and sell through SC Mobile, paying in dollars or UAE dirhams. The service adds direct cryptocurrency purchases to the bank’s existing investment options, which include crypto exchange-traded funds, structured products and over-the-counter derivatives.
Standard Chartered brings crypto trading to wealth accounts
Standard Chartered’s crypto trading offering provides 24/7 access without requiring a separate exchange account or personal wallet. According to crypto.news, the bank characterized this as its first cryptocurrency trading service aimed at wealthy clients worldwide, marking the first such service provided by an international bank within the UAE.
Collaborating with Zodia Markets, a digital asset firm backed by SC Ventures, the bank’s Wealth and Retail Banking and Corporate and Investment Banking units built this product together.
Who qualifies, and what trading costs
Only clients the bank designates as Professional Investors are permitted access. According to its key facts statement, eligibility demands UAE residency, being older than 21, holding an eligible dollar or dirham account, possessing an investor risk-profile rating above 5, and maintaining a banking relationship of at least AED 4 million.
That statement sets a minimum order of $50 and a maximum of $50,000, or the equivalent amounts in dirhams. Quoted prices incorporate a spread of up to 2%; the bank charges no separate transaction or custody fees.
Bank-managed custody under Dubai’s licensing framework
The client agreement makes the bank the broker-dealer, while a Standard Chartered group company safeguards purchased assets. Clients retain ownership, but the cryptocurrencies are not deposits and carry no deposit protection.
The closed-loop structure prohibits cryptocurrency transfers both into and out of the service. Ownership changes hands instantly upon purchase, with balances reflecting the update in real time, while the bank obtains the coins from its counterparty before the business day concludes. Sale proceeds go to the client’s designated bank account, with settlement managed by the bank.
Standard Chartered Bank, operating in the UAE, is the contracting entity. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority lists its active broker-dealer licence as issued on August 24. The agreement specifies that this authorization covers Dubai outside the Dubai International Financial Centre, or DIFC.
A separate framework from Ripple USD custody
The affluent-client product operates under a different regulatory framework from the bank’s Ripple USD custody service. The bank announced on October 12 that qualifying institutional clients would be able to hold Ripple USD, known as RLUSD, on the XRP Ledger via its DIFC branch, which falls under Dubai Financial Services Authority regulation.
The bank plans to extend the affluent-client trading offering to other markets over time, beginning with Professional Investors in the UAE.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.