1 / 5
On 14 October 2026, Standard Chartered said eligible Professional Investor clients in the UAE can buy and sell bitcoin and ether through their existing accounts.
2 / 5
The bank handles custody and settlement inside its own ecosystem under a VARA licence, with Zodia Markets providing market infrastructure.
3 / 5
Only clients who meet Professional Investor criteria. Trading is execution-only.
4 / 5
BTC and ETH only, no sending to external wallets, and spreads reported at up to 2%.
5 / 5
Institutional custody in September 2024, UK spot trading in July 2025, DIFC institutional spot on 3 September 2026, and now UAE wealth clients.
Sources, context and the details behind every number are in the full article on btcmedia.news.
Not financial advice.