Standard Chartered unlocks direct bitcoin and ether trading for affluent UAE clients

Standard Chartered (STAN) introduced a crypto trading service for affluent clients in the United Arab Emirates, allowing eligible investors to buy and sell bitcoin BTC$83,478.64 and ether ETH$2,519.88 through their existing bank accounts.

The service will initially be available to clients classified as professional investors, and the London-based lender said it is the first of its kind offered by an international bank in the UAE.

The debut is also a global first for Standard Chartered, according to the bank, because it marks the first time it has offered cryptocurrency trading directly to wealthy clients in any market.

The bank will manage custody and settlement within its own ecosystem using a closed-loop model, it said, meaning clients will not need separate cryptocurrency wallets or third-party trading platforms.

The service brings together Standard Chartered’s wealth and retail banking and corporate and investment banking businesses and operates through Zodia Markets, which is backed by the bank’s SC Ventures unit.

Standard Chartered said it has received licensing approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority(VARA).

The bank introduced institutional bitcoin and ether spot trading through its U.K. arm in July last year and expanded that offering to the UAE on Sept. 3.