Is Standard Chartered crypto friendly?

Yes for institutions, through spot trading, custody and stablecoins. Retail customers get little beyond the Mox app in Hong Kong.

CBL Score: 8 of 16

CriterionScoreSource
Accepts exchange transferspartial (1)unverified
Stablecoin off-ramppartial (1)source · checked 8 September 2026
Business accounts for Web3partial (1)source · checked 8 September 2026
Custodyyes (2)source · checked 8 September 2026
Staking and yieldpartial (1)source · checked 8 September 2026 secondary source
Cardno (0)source · checked 8 September 2026
Multiple jurisdictionsyes (2)source · checked 8 September 2026
Open to retailno (0)source · checked 8 September 2026

Total 8 of 16. Yes scores 2, partial 1, no 0. A secondary source is press or a third party rather than the bank or its regulator. Unverified means no source could be found; the score stands until one is.

Standing

JurisdictionUK · global
TypeTraditional
Health tagWatch A strong global bank with a repeated sanctions-penalty history, most recently settled in 2019 for over $1bn. · checked 26 August 2026
Last verified8 September 2026

What Standard Chartered allows and blocks

Allowed

  • Deliverable Bitcoin and Ether spot trading for institutional clients through the UK branch (since July 2025) and Standard Chartered DIFC in the UAE (since September 2026)
  • Regulated digital asset custody for institutions from the DIFC under a DFSA licence, with Bitcoin and Ether supported at launch
  • Custody through Zodia Custody, an FCA-registered cryptoasset business majority backed by Standard Chartered, for institutional investors only
  • Institutional staking on ETH and other assets through Zodia Custody with Blockdaemon
  • Conversion between Hong Kong dollars and the HKDAP stablecoin for eligible institutional and corporate clients of Standard Chartered Hong Kong
  • Banking, fiat and stablecoin settlement for fintech partners such as DCS (DeCard) in Singapore, and custody for OKX's institutional clients
  • Retail Bitcoin and Ether trading through Mox, the Standard Chartered-backed digital bank in Hong Kong, executed by HashKey Exchange

Blocked or restricted

  • No retail crypto trading, custody or staking at Standard Chartered itself in any market; every direct product is for institutions
  • HKDAP stablecoin access is limited to institutions, corporates and professional investors during the current phase. Retail access is not yet live
  • Mox crypto trading is buy and sell only inside the app. Crypto cannot be transferred in or out
  • Singapore credit cards: cryptocurrency merchant code 6051 is excluded from rewards, and locally issued credit cards cannot be used to buy crypto under MAS rules
  • No published retail policy on transfers to or from crypto exchanges in any Standard Chartered market

Opening an account

Fees that matter

Regulatory history

2019Combined settlement of about 1.1 billion US dollars with OFAC (639 million), the DOJ, NYDFS (180 million), the Federal Reserve and the New York DA over Iran and other sanctions violations processed through the New York branch, plus an FCA fine of 102.2 million pounds for AML failings in UK correspondent banking and UAE branches. source
2021PRA fined Standard Chartered Bank 46.55 million pounds for misreporting a USD liquidity metric and for a four month delay in telling the regulator. source
2026Anchorpoint Financial, the Standard Chartered led joint venture with HKT and Animoca Brands, was granted a stablecoin issuer licence by the HKMA in April, and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) became the first bank distributor of HKDAP in August. source

Questions about Standard Chartered

Does Standard Chartered let me send money to Kraken or Coinbase?

The bank does not publish a retail policy on exchange transfers in any of its markets. Singapore card terms treat crypto merchants as a category that earns no rewards, and MAS rules stop locally issued credit cards buying crypto. For retail customers the answer is not documented, so expect case by case treatment.

Can I buy Bitcoin through Standard Chartered?

Not as a retail customer of the bank itself. Standard Chartered offers deliverable Bitcoin and Ether spot trading only to institutional clients, through its UK branch since July 2025 and through Standard Chartered DIFC in the UAE since September 2026. In Hong Kong, the Standard Chartered-backed digital bank Mox lets retail customers buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether inside its app, executed by HashKey Exchange, but coins cannot be moved out.

Does Standard Chartered have a stablecoin?

Its Hong Kong joint venture Anchorpoint Financial issues HKDAP, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin licensed by the HKMA in April 2026. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) became the first bank distributor in August 2026. Access is limited to institutions, corporates and professional investors for now, with retail targeted later in 2026.

Who custodies crypto for Standard Chartered clients?

The bank runs its own DFSA-licensed custody service from the DIFC, launched in September 2024 with Brevan Howard Digital as first client, and it acts as custodian for OKX institutional clients. Zodia Custody, which it backs alongside Northern Trust and SBI, has been FCA-registered since 2021 and serves institutional investors only, including staking through Blockdaemon.

Closest alternatives

7/16DBS
Yes for accredited and institutional investors, with a closed loop. Ordinary retail customers get bank rails to licensed exchanges but no crypto trading at DBS.
6/16Deutsche Bank
Yes for crypto businesses and institutions, not yet for individuals.
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