Standard Chartered has launched in-app trading for bitcoin and ether in the UAE, allowing eligible clients to buy and sell the cryptocurrencies through their existing bank accounts.
The UAE is the London-headquartered bank’s first market where individual clients can access direct digital-asset trading through its mobile app. Customers will not need to open separate crypto wallets or transfer funds to external platforms, according to the announcement.
The launch follows the bank’s onshore UAE entity receiving a full broker-dealer licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Standard Chartered said it is the first international lender in the UAE to offer direct digital-asset trading through its own app.
Access will initially be limited to existing clients who qualify as professional investors and meet the bank’s eligibility and suitability requirements. Trading will be offered on an execution-only basis, meaning clients will make their own investment decisions without transaction-by-transaction advice.
Ayesha Abbas, the bank’s managing director and head of affluent and wealth solutions for EMEA and the UAE, said the country’s regulatory environment made it the right location for the bank’s first global launch of the service for individual clients. Wider retail access will depend on regulation, demand, market maturity and additional safeguards.
Source: AGBI
