Standard Chartered Bank Announces Digital Custody Service for Bitcoin, Ether in UAE

Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered, said that the service goes beyond simple wallets.

Written by Radhika Parashar, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 11 September 2024 15:45 IST

Standard Chartered Bank Announces Digital Custody Service for Bitcoin, Ether in UAE

Photo Credit: Reuters

Brevan Howard Digital becomes the first client of Standard Chartered's new service

Highlights

Standard Chartered praises the UAE for its regulatory clarity
The bank first announced its crypto custody service plans last year
It has finalised licensing in Dubai’s special economic zone

As the crypto sector undergoes regulatory shifts worldwide, banks are increasingly exploring opportunities to offer services related to virtual digital assets (VDAs). In a recent development, London-based Standard Chartered has launched a digital asset custody service in the UAE. This service will provide secure custody for cryptocurrencies to its UAE-based clients, starting with Bitcoin and Ether in the initial phase.

UAE's regulatory clarity in respect to crypto assets has made it an ideal location for Standard Chartered to launch and try this service, an official statement from the lender said this week. For its own services portfolio, the bank said, this feature marks a milestone development.

“We firmly believe that digital assets are not merely a passing trend, but a fundamental shift in the fabric of finance,” said Bill Winters, the Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered as commenting on the development.

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As per Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered, the service offering goes beyond simple wallets. Without going into too much detail, Harwood-Jones said, “it is a comprehensive solution that addresses the unique challenges of digital asset custody from a regulatory, risk, and prudential point of view. It is a game changer for institutional clients, as we can support them with our traditional expertise to navigate the complexities of the digital asset space.”

Brevan Howard Digital, the crypto division of investment management platform Brevan Howard, has been onboarded as the inaugural client for the new UAE-specific service by Standard Chartered.

The bank first spoke about launching such a service back in 2023 when it signed an MoU with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and obtained a licence from DIFC's regulator, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). At the time, Bill Winters had said that Standard Chartered views digital assets as an important part of the future of financial services worldwide.

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Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC, Brazil's Itau Unibanco bank, and Goldman Sachs are other banks that are also exploring the crypto sector.

Meanwhile, as far as the UAE is concerned, its VARA regulations established in 2022 detail what crypto firms need to do and avoid doing to keep their Web3 businesses up and running. This regulatory clarity is what makes the UAE lucrative for Web3-related platform trials.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Standard Chartered, Bitcoin, Ether, UAE

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More