Following the signing of a memorandum of agreement in May 2023, the bank has been awarded a licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a prominent global financial hub.

The two biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Ethereum and Bitcoin, will be supported by the service at first.

It is revealed that Brevan Howard Digital, the company's specialized cryptocurrency and digital asset business, would be the product's first customer.

"The launch of our digital asset custody offering represents a pivotal moment not just for Standard Chartered, but for the financial services industry," said Standard Chartered Bank's group chief executive, Bill Winters. We really think that digital assets represent a fundamental change in the financial landscape rather than just a fad. We are deliberately putting ourselves at the forefront of the future development in the custodial industry with this innovative service. Our strong infrastructure and domain knowledge enable us to act as a link between the financial services industry and the developing digital asset ecosystem.

According to him, the bank is currently looking at ways to expand its custody services to additional significant financial hubs in its footprint regions and intends to expand its purview in the upcoming months to include a greater variety of digital assets.