# Standard Chartered opens bitcoin and ether trading in UAE > Affluent Professional Investor clients in the UAE can buy and sell bitcoin and ether from their Standard Chartered accounts. The bank holds the coins and settles each trade. - **Source:** https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-10-14-standard-chartered-uae-bitcoin-ether-trading/ - **Published:** 2026-10-14 - **Category:** News - **Author:** Mateo - **Tags:** banks, bitcoin, ethereum, regulation, institutional, vasp - **Also published in:** [Español](https://ptycoin.com/es/posts/2026-10-14-standard-chartered-uae-bitcoin-ether-trading/) --- In the United Arab Emirates, Standard Chartered's affluent Professional Investor clients can buy bitcoin and ether from accounts they already hold at the bank, and they can sell those coins the same way. The bank handles custody and settlement end to end, it says. ## Trades inside the bank account Standard Chartered says in its [release](https://www.sc.com/en/press-release/standard-chartered-unveils-first-of-its-kind-cryptocurrency-trading-solution-for-affluent-clients/) that the trade runs inside the bank's own setup, which it calls a closed loop, with the bank holding the coins and completing settlement. It says that placing the order does not run through a separate wallet or through another company's platform, and that this limits exposure to wallets run by other firms. Clients reach the service in the bank's mobile app, according to [AGBI](https://www.agbi.com/banking-finance/2026/10/standard-chartered-licensed-to-launch-crypto-trading-in-uae/). Wealth and Retail Banking (WRB), the group's wealth and retail business, built the service with Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) and with Zodia Markets. SC Ventures, the bank's ventures unit, backs Zodia Markets. Samir Subberwal, global head of wealth solutions, retail products, and data and analytics, said client interest in digital assets is still growing. The service, he said, puts those assets into the bank's wealth business, and clients want that access along with the security of a regulated institution. ## Who can place an order According to AGBI, the client has to bank with Standard Chartered already, and has to pass an eligibility check and a suitability check. Ayesha Abbas, the managing director who runs the bank's affluent and wealth business for EMEA and the UAE, said the bank looks for investment "knowledge and experience" and for liquid net worth at a qualifying level. She gave no figure for that bar. Trading is execution-only, according to AGBI: clients make their own decisions and get no advice on each order. ## The row on VARA's register Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) lists Standard Chartered Bank on its [public register](https://www.vara.ae/en/licenses-and-register/public-register/) with a VASP Licence for Broker-Dealer Services, issued on 24 August 2026. The status is Active and the reference is VL/26/08/003. The bank says it has received licensing approval from VARA. It calls the launch a "global first" for Standard Chartered. Rola Abu Manneh, chief executive for the UAE, the Middle East and Pakistan, said, "We are proud to be the first international bank in the UAE to launch a cryptocurrency trading offering." She called the UAE "one of our four global wealth hubs." She described the UAE as a natural choice, and she pointed to its approach to innovation, its regulatory environment, and its place in digital assets. Abbas led the bank's talks with VARA, according to AGBI. According to AGBI, this approval brings the number of fully licensed providers to 58. Binance, OKX and Crypto.com are among the exchanges on that list. VARA was set up in March 2022. In July this year, it said it expected 70 companies with full licences to be up and running within months. ## What the bank already offered Clients who already qualify can buy cryptocurrency ETFs on the platform the bank uses for cash equities. An ETF is a fund that tracks the coins and trades like a share. Those clients can also take market exposure through structured products, which bundle that exposure, and through OTC derivatives. An OTC derivative is a contract the client arranges privately with the bank. The wider digital-asset work covers custody, trading and tokenisation. Tokenisation means representing an asset as a digital token. On the ventures side, Zodia Markets and Libeara extend that work. The group does business in 55 markets. It says this trading service will be offered in other markets later. According to [CoinDesk](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/14/standard-chartered-unlocks-direct-bitcoin-and-ether-trading-for-affluent-uae-clients), the bank gave no timetable. A wider opening for ordinary retail clients would depend on regulation, on client demand and on how mature the market is, and also on suitability checks, risk disclosures and operational safeguards, according to AGBI. Abbas did not commit the bank to that opening. This article is not investment advice. --- ## Keep reading - [How to read a block explorer and verify a transaction](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-07-07-read-block-explorer-verify-transactions/index.md): A block explorer is the public receipt for every on-chain move. Learn how to look up a transaction ID, read confirmations, and confirm funds arrived at the right address. - [Lemon's Bitcoin-backed credit card in Argentina has no margin calls](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-10-02-lemon-bitcoin-backed-credit-card-argentina/index.md): Lemon's Visa credit card in Argentina is secured with bitcoin, has a fixed ARS 1,000,000 monthly limit and bills in pesos. Lemon can sell the locked BTC only after a missed minimum payment. - [ikigii, Towerbank's Panama-licensed banking app, lets you borrow dollars or stablecoins against Bitcoin at a 50% loan-to-value with a margin call at 65%, so the liquidity arrives without selling the coins](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-09-11-ikigii-towerbank-btc-loans/index.md): ikigii is Towerbank's SBP-supervised Panama app: borrow USD or stables against BTC at 50% LTV, margin call at 65%, dollar account, Visa debit, and bank custody instead of an offshore desk. --- Source: PTYcoin — https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-10-14-standard-chartered-uae-bitcoin-ether-trading/. Free to read and cite with attribution to ptycoin.com. AI-usage terms: https://ptycoin.com/en/ai-usage/