Standard Chartered opens direct Bitcoin and ether trading to affluent UAE clients

Standard Chartered now lets wealthy clients in the UAE buy Bitcoin and ether straight from their bank accounts. No separate exchange login. No wiring money to a platform you found through a podcast ad. The service went live on October 14, 2026. It makes Standard Chartered the first international bank to offer direct digital-asset trading in the UAE, and that matters because it moves crypto from the fringe of a client’s financial life into the same app where they check their mortgage. How the new service works Eligible affluent clients can trade BTC and ETH directly through the accounts they already hold with the bank. Standard Chartered describes the setup as a closed-loop model. Money and crypto stay inside the bank’s own system, backed by institutional-grade custody and settlement processes rather than being shuffled out to third parties. The offering is regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, better known as VARA. Not everyone gets a seat at the table. Clients must meet professional investor criteria, which include thresholds for both investment knowledge and liquid net worth. On pricing, the solution features spreads of up to 2%, with no additional transaction...