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Standard Chartered obtained a full broker-dealer licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, allowing the bank to offer cryptocurrency trading services directly through its mobile application to professional investors in the UAE, AGBI reported on October 14. The bank described the launch as its first global offering of this kind for individual clients and the first from an international bank in the country, according to its announcement. Rola Abu Manneh, the bank’s chief executive for the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan, said the regulatory environment made the UAE the natural location for the debut. The service operates on a closed-loop model where Standard Chartered handles custody and settlement without requiring external wallets.
The development reflects themes outlined in an Analytics Insight examination of institutional cryptocurrency adoption in the UAE that emphasised trading services, regulation and market opportunities. The report positioned the UAE as transitioning to a mature phase where institutional infrastructure takes precedence over retail speculation. Frameworks from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and federal regulators have removed uncertainty that previously deterred larger participants, the assessment found. Manan Vora told Khaleej Times that conversations have evolved from questions of legitimacy to topics such as settlement finality and institutional-grade custody.
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, established in March 2022, now counts 58 fully licensed providers on its register and anticipates 70 becoming operational soon, VARA data shows. Year-to-date transaction volumes at regulated entities approached AED2.5 trillion by late 2025, the Dubai Government Media Office indicated. The regulator’s rulebook has provided greater clarity than many other jurisdictions, contributing to the emirate’s emergence as a global centre for virtual assets, according to industry statements compiled by AGBI.
Institutional and high-net-worth investors accounted for more than two-thirds of crypto trading volumes across the Middle East and North Africa in 2025, IBS Intelligence reported citing an industry survey. The data revealed a 66 percent year-on-year increase in high-value traders and high-net-worth individuals alongside a doubling of corporate and treasury clients in the region. In the UAE, 71 percent of ultra-high-net-worth families believe strategic allocations to digital assets are warranted, exceeding the global average, the report added.
Tokenisation of real-world assets such as real estate and commodities is gaining traction and can transform illiquid holdings into liquid, fractionable instruments with near-instant settlement, Vora stated in remarks to Khaleej Times. Binance secured the first global licence under Abu Dhabi’s ADGM framework and received a $2 billion investment from MGX, a Forbes recap of 2025 regulatory developments noted. RAKBANK partnered with Bitpanda to become the first conventional bank in the UAE to integrate crypto trading into its mobile app for customers.
A comprehensive study by The Blockchain Center in Abu Dhabi produced with Binance traced the UAE’s blockchain ecosystem from early sandboxes to production-scale deployment across payments, settlement and capital markets. The February 2026 document mapped regulated exchanges, custodians and tokenisation platforms operating under mature supervisory regimes. Live implementations now extend to trade finance, digital identity and government services, demonstrating how distributed ledger technology has moved beyond experimentation, the report concluded.
