Standard Chartered has become the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to allow institutional clients to withdraw and redeem USDC directly through its banking platform, the lender said.
The service eliminates the need for eligible customers to open separate accounts with Circle, the USDC issuer, giving them a single onboarding process for both traditional banking services and access to stablecoins.
Standard Chartered Bank brings USDC services to its banking platform
new service, Announce Developed on July 2 in collaboration with Circle, it will allow eligible institutional customers to mint and redeem USDC through Standard Chartered Bank’s operations in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC). According to the bank, customers will be able to access banking, custody, and digital asset services through one integrated platform while using USDC for cross-chain settlement and treasury management.
Initially, the offer will only be available through the bank’s business in the DIFC. However, Standard Chartered said it plans to expand its reach to more markets once it receives regulatory approvals.
“Digital assets have become an increasingly important component of the global financial infrastructure, and institutional clients are seeking the same levels of trust and governance that underpin traditional markets,” said Roberto Hornvig, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Chartered.
Furthermore, he noted that the launch aims to support broader institutional participation in cryptocurrency markets through compliance and risk management standards in place.
Cryptocurrency market watchers took the announcement as another sign that stablecoin infrastructure is moving more towards regulated finance, with Hupzy from Spot On Chain writing On the According to the analyst, this arrangement has the potential to increase USDC usage among institutions, deepening on-chain liquidity in the process.
Increasing competition for stablecoins
Standard Chartered’s announcement came just one day after introduction OpenUSD, a new stablecoin backed by more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, Ripple, and BlackRock. The project, designed around collaborative governance and revenue sharing, has added another contender to the race to build the institutional infrastructure for stablecoins.
The bank has already expanded its presence in regulated digital assets, including in April this year, when it was among the first groups to do so. It happens A stablecoin issuer license in Hong Kong, allowing it to mint stablecoins backed by the Hong Kong dollar for cross-border payments.
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