Multinational bank Standard Chartered says it will begin offering cryptocurrency custody services in the United Arab Emirates.
On September 10, the bank said it would launch digital asset custody services for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies by market Capital . The bank launched its custody service through a partnership with Brevan Howard Digital, the crypto arm of hedge fund Brevan Howard.
The service was first announced on May 10, 2023, when the bank signed a memorandum of Mnemonics with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a special economic zone in the UAE.
According to the bank, this custody solution is now licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the DIFC’s dedicated financial regulator.
While the service will start with BTC and ETH, the bank wants to expand its scope to include more Cryptoasset and expand its custody services to other financial centers.
Standard Chartered continues to push crypto
In the announcement, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters said the new service positions the bank at the next stage of custody. He also explained that the bank is a big believer in digital assets. He said:
We firmly believe that digital assets are not just a passing trend but a fundamental change in the financial structure.
Standard Chartered is one of the banks that has been steadily dabbling in the cryptocurrency space. On July 18, the company partnered with Web3 company Animoca Brands to participate in a stablecoin pilot program led by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
On August 29, the company partnered with Crypto exchange to offer fiat services to over 90 countries, starting with the UAE. The partnership allows customers to deposit and withdraw USD, UAE Dirham, and EURO on the trading platform.
UAE leads the way in cryptocurrency adoption
The UAE is one of the leading jurisdictions for cryptocurrency adoption. According to research by consulting firm Henley & Partners, the UAE ranks third behind Singapore and Hong Kong in digital asset adoption.
The UAE scored 41.8 points in the Henley Crypto Adoption Index 2024, about the same as Hong Kong. The country scored highly across many of the study's criteria, including economic, innovation, and technological factors.
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