Standard Chartered becomes first major bank to offer Bitcoin, Ether spot trading in GCC

Standard Chartered has become the first global bank of its size to offer institutional crypto spot trading in the Gulf Cooperation Council, launching Bitcoin and Ether trading through its regulated branch at the Dubai International Financial Centre.

The move, announced on Sept. 3, makes Standard Chartered the first global bank of its size to offer spot-trading capabilities in the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to the bank.

The service gives institutional customers in the UAE direct access to buying and selling the two largest cryptocurrencies by market value while operating through the bank’s regulated presence in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

The launch represents an expansion of Standard Chartered’s existing digital-asset business and comes as financial institutions increasingly develop services around cryptocurrencies within regulated markets.

“The UAE has developed a clear digital assets regulatory framework that supports institutional participation and innovation,” said Rola Abu Manneh, CEO, UAE, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered.

The bank’s decision also extends its institutional cryptocurrency offering beyond trading. Standard Chartered has become a regulated digital-asset custody provider, allowing it to hold cryptocurrencies on behalf of customers.

Together, the services position the bank to provide institutional clients with both trading and custody capabilities within the UAE’s regulated digital-asset market.

Crypto spot trading expands beyond Standard Chartered’s UK operations

Standard Chartered’s UAE launch builds on its earlier entry into crypto spot trading for institutional customers.

The bank first introduced institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading through its UK branch in July 2025. Its expansion into the UAE therefore represents a further step in the bank’s efforts to provide cryptocurrency services to institutional investors across major financial centres.

The timing also reflects the growing institutional presence of digital assets in the Middle East.

Bitcoin was trading nearly 1% higher at $77,889 on Thursday afternoon, while Ether had gained 0.6% to trade at $2,407.

For Standard Chartered, the addition of crypto spot trading in the UAE means institutional customers can access the market through a major international banking group rather than relying solely on specialist cryptocurrency platforms.

The combination of trading and custody could allow Standard Chartered to serve clients seeking regulated access to digital assets while keeping their holdings within a traditional banking relationship.

Dubai strengthens its regulated crypto market

Standard Chartered’s expansion comes as Dubai continues to build out its regulatory framework for virtual assets.

In July, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, known as VARA, licensed 50 companies and said another 20 were expected to become operational.

The growth in licensed firms reflects the emirate’s broader effort to establish a regulated environment for cryptocurrency and other virtual assets.

According to the Dubai Government Media Office, virtual-asset transaction volumes across regulated entities reached almost AED2.5 trillion, or approximately $680 billion, in 2025.

Those figures provide an indication of the scale of activity developing within Dubai’s regulated digital-asset ecosystem.

The emirate has sought to position itself as a regulated centre for digital assets, attracting major cryptocurrency companies as well as traditional financial institutions.

That strategy places Dubai in competition with established financial centres such as Singapore and Hong Kong, both of which have also developed regulatory frameworks aimed at attracting digital-asset businesses.

The arrival of Standard Chartered’s crypto spot trading service adds another major financial institution to Dubai’s expanding digital-asset landscape.

Crypto spot trading adds institutional depth to UAE market

The UAE’s approach to digital assets has increasingly focused on combining regulation with institutional participation.

Standard Chartered’s latest move is significant because the service is being offered through its branch registered at the Dubai International Financial Centre, rather than as an unregulated cryptocurrency operation.

The bank’s entry also comes alongside the expansion of Dubai’s wider virtual-asset industry, where companies including Binance, OKX and Crypto.com have established a presence.

For institutional investors, access to crypto spot trading through an international bank could provide another route into the cryptocurrency market as financial institutions broaden their digital-asset offerings.

The expansion of Standard Chartered’s services also illustrates how traditional banking and cryptocurrency markets are increasingly converging in jurisdictions that provide clearer regulatory frameworks.

The UAE’s regulatory environment has been a key factor behind that development, according to Abu Manneh, while the growth in licensed virtual-asset companies and transaction volumes demonstrates the scale of Dubai’s ambitions.

Standard Chartered’s move therefore extends beyond the launch of crypto spot trading alone. By adding cryptocurrency custody to its existing institutional services, the bank is building a broader regulated digital-asset offering in one of the Middle East’s most active financial markets.