Standard Chartered to Launch Crypto, Stablecoin and Tokenized Asset Custody in Singapore

Standard Chartered said it plans to introduce custody services in Singapore for selected cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, extending a digital-asset custody business already active in major financial centers including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Luxembourg and Hong Kong. The bank said Thursday the offering would be available to institutional clients and accredited investor corporate clients, subject to applicable regulatory requirements. It will be housed within Standard Chartered's financing and securities services business, not positioned as a retail crypto product. "Secure and regulated custody is a critical foundation of the digital asset ecosystem," said Ole Matthiessen, Standard Chartered's global head of transaction services and digital assets. "As client demand continues to grow, we will continue investing in our digital assets capabilities across key financial centers." While global banks have been expanding in this area—BNY, for instance, broadened its digital-asset custody platform to include USDC custody and minting and later added staking—the plan marks a notable step for Standard Chartered in Singapore, a key Asian hub for wealth management and digital assets. The initiative also explicitly includes stablecoins and tokenized assets alongside cryptocurrencies. Standard Chartered has been building its digital-asset business through its custody arm, Zodia. In May, the bank agreed to acquire the remaining stake in Zodia Custody, the firm it co-founded with Northern Trust. Last month, it also began offering institutional spot bitcoin and ether trading via its Dubai branch's foreign-exchange platform. In Singapore, the planned custody service is intended to support clients across the broader asset lifecycle, from safeguarding traditional assets to issuing and holding tokenized versions of those assets. Patrick Lee, Standard Chartered's Singapore chief executive, said the bank is seeing rising institutional demand for trusted infrastructure to move and safeguard tokenized assets. Standard Chartered did not specify which cryptocurrencies, stablecoins or tokenized products it expects to support, and it did not provide a launch timeline.