Standard Chartered has introduced a crypto trading service for affluent clients in the United Arab Emirates, allowing eligible investors to buy and sell bitcoin BTC $83,212.45 and ether ETH $2,501.56 through their existing bank accounts.
The service will initially be available to clients classified as professional investors. The London-based lender said it is the first offering of its kind by an international bank in the UAE, and also a global first for Standard Chartered, marking the first time it has offered cryptocurrency trading directly to wealthy clients in any market.
The bank will manage custody and settlement within its own ecosystem using a closed-loop model, meaning clients will not need separate cryptocurrency wallets or third-party trading platforms.
