Standard Chartered has expanded Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) trading to wealthy clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who qualify as professional investors.
Eligible investors can trade these assets within their existing Standard Chartered bank accounts, the London-headquartered multinational bank announced Wednesday.
Standard Chartereds eligibility criteria require individuals to have at least 4 million dirhams (about $1.1 million) in net assets, excluding their main residence, and sufficient investment knowledge and experience or representation by a licensed entity.
Digital assets are “moving into mainstream wealth conversations,” and the banks clients are increasingly looking for the “security, trust and confidence that comes from investing through a regulated and trusted institution,” said Samir Subberwal, global head of wealth solutions, retail products, data and analytics at Standard Chartered.
The development comes over a month after Standard Chartered launched UAE crypto trading services for institutional clients in early September.
Standard Chartered is not the only company expanding its digital asset offering in the region. On Monday, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken‘s parent company, Payward, received VARA approval to provide crypto services through its local entity. In July, neobank Revolut received in-principle approval from Dubai’s VARA to offer crypto-related services.