Standard Chartered opens direct bitcoin and ether trading to UAE professional investors

Standard Chartered introduced direct bitcoin and ether trading for professional investors in the UAE, CoinDesk reported on Oct. 14. Eligible clients can buy and sell both tokens through existing bank accounts. The bank described the service as the first of its kind from an international bank in the UAE and its first direct crypto trading offer to wealthy clients in any market.

Custody and settlement stay inside the bank's own ecosystem under a closed-loop model, according to the bank, so clients need no separate crypto wallets or third-party trading platforms. The service runs through Zodia Markets, backed by Standard Chartered's SC Ventures unit, and combines the bank's wealth and retail banking arm with its corporate and investment bank. Standard Chartered said it holds licensing approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.

Standard Chartered introduced institutional spot bitcoin and ether trading through its U.K. arm in July of last year and expanded that offering to the UAE on Sept. 3. Eligible clients already had access to crypto exchange-traded funds, structured products and over-the-counter derivatives, and the bank said it plans to take the new trading service to other markets without giving a timetable. The service extends the bank's regulated digital-asset work.