Overview
- The service, which went live on October 14, 2026, is available only to clients in the UAE who meet the bank’s Professional Investor criteria.
- Standard Chartered operates the offering in a closed‑loop model so the bank handles custody and settlement and clients do not need external crypto wallets or third‑party exchanges.
- The product was built with Zodia Markets and SC Ventures and follows Standard Chartered’s staged rollout of custody in 2024 and institutional spot trading in the UK (2025) and Dubai (September 2026).
- Early reporting shows initial pricing with spreads of up to about 2% while the bank has not published a full schedule of trading fees, minimum investment amounts, or plans to add assets beyond Bitcoin and Ether.
- Standard Chartered says it will expand the wealth trading product to other markets over time, but any rollout will depend on local regulator approvals and internal decisions so timing and scope remain unspecified.