Standard Chartered has opened spot trading in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to clients in the United Arab Emirates. Cointelegraph reported the move on Oct 14, 2026. The article was written by Zoltan Vardai and edited by Yohan Yun.
Only clients who qualify as professional investors can use the service. The report describes them as wealthy clients. It also says the bank plans to open access to more market participants.
The report does not say when that wider access will come or which groups it will cover. It also gives no fees, trading limits or volumes for the new service.
For anyone already holding a perpetual position on Bitget, Bybit, MEXC or OKX, this changes nothing directly. The service is spot trading inside a bank, not perpetual futures, and the report has no figures that point to any effect on funding rates, exchange fees or perp liquidity.
Source: cointelegraph — Standard Chartered expands Bitcoin and Ether trading to professional investors in UAE