Standard Chartered Plans Crypto Custody Service for Institutions in Singapore

TLDR

• Standard Chartered plans to offer custody for select cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets in Singapore.
• The service will be open to institutional clients and accredited investor corporate clients, subject to regulatory requirements.
• Singapore joins the bank’s existing digital asset markets, including the UAE, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.
• In May, the bank moved to acquire Zodia Custody’s custody business and spin out Zodia Solutions.
• The bank has not yet said which cryptocurrencies the Singapore service will support.

Standard Chartered announced on Thursday that it plans to launch digital asset custody services in Singapore. The service will be offered to institutional clients and corporate clients that qualify as accredited investors.

The bank’s local unit, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited, will hold select cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets for these clients. The launch is subject to applicable regulatory requirements.

The London-headquartered bank said the move responds to growing demand from institutional and corporate clients. These clients are looking for secure, regulated and bank-grade custody for digital assets.

What the Singapore Service Will Offer

Custody means a firm holds and protects assets on behalf of its clients. Standard Chartered said the planned service will work alongside its Financing & Securities Services business in Singapore.

The bank plans to bring together traditional asset servicing, tokenization and digital asset custody. It said this will let it support clients from holding traditional assets to tokenizing and safeguarding digital assets.

Patrick Lee, CEO for Singapore and for ASEAN and South Asia at Standard Chartered, called Singapore an important center for financial innovation. He pointed to its strong institutional ecosystem and growing demand for trusted digital asset solutions.

“Robust infrastructure will be critical to supporting the secure movement, safekeeping, and servicing of tokenised assets at an institutional scale,” Lee said. He added that the plan reinforces the bank’s commitment to a secure and well-regulated digital asset market.

Part of a Wider Digital Asset Push

Singapore is the latest market in the bank’s digital asset expansion. Standard Chartered already has a digital asset presence in the United Arab Emirates, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.

The bank said Singapore’s position as a “leading financial and innovation hub” makes it an important part of its global strategy.

In May, Standard Chartered announced plans to consolidate its custody operations. It moved to acquire Zodia Custody’s custody business and spin out Zodia Solutions after shareholders accepted its offer.

In the UAE, the bank offers both institutional crypto trading and fiat payment services. Last month, it launched spot Bitcoin and Ether trading in the country.

In June, the bank signed a banking agreement with crypto exchange CoinMENA. The deal supports the exchange’s fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, client money accounts and virtual account-based transaction management.

Ole Matthiessen, Global Head of Transaction Services and Digital Assets at Standard Chartered, said secure and regulated custody is a “critical foundation” of the digital asset ecosystem.

He said that as a global systemically important bank, Standard Chartered provides the trust and safeguards needed to support wider market participation. He added that the bank will keep investing in digital asset services across key financial centers as client demand grows.

The bank has not announced a launch date for the Singapore service. It also has not said which cryptocurrencies the service will support.

Cointelegraph asked Standard Chartered which cryptocurrencies would be covered but did not receive an immediate response.

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