Standard Chartered plans to extend its digital-asset custody business to Singapore, offering selected cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets to institutional clients and accredited-investor corporate clients, subject to applicable regulatory requirements.
The bank has not disclosed which assets would be supported or when the service would begin. The planned offering would form part of its financing and securities-services business, rather than being a retail cryptocurrency product.
Singapore expansion targets institutional clients
The proposed service would allow eligible clients to safeguard digital assets in Singapore. Standard Chartered said it would be aimed at institutional customers and corporate clients that qualify as accredited investors. The announcement did not provide details of the regulatory approvals or requirements that must be met before the service can launch.
Custody is the infrastructure used to hold and protect assets on behalf of clients. In digital finance, custody can include the safekeeping of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized versions of assets that traditionally exist in physical or conventional financial form. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a relatively stable value, while tokenized real-world assets represent claims or interests recorded on a blockchain.
Standard Chartered said the Singapore offering would cover more than simply holding digital tokens. It would support clients across the wider asset lifecycle, from safeguarding traditional assets to issuing and holding tokenized versions of those assets.
Ole Matthiessen, the bank’s global head of transaction services and digital assets, said regulated and secure custody is an important part of the digital-asset ecosystem. He added that Standard Chartered would continue investing in its digital-asset capabilities as client demand grows.
The bank did not identify the cryptocurrencies, stablecoins or tokenized products that could be included. It also did not specify whether the service would launch on a particular date.
Building on a wider digital-assets strategy
The Singapore plan adds another location to Standard Chartered’s existing digital-asset custody operations. The bank already has activity in financial centers including the United Arab Emirates, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.
The business has been developed through the bank’s custody arm, Zodia. Standard Chartered agreed in May to acquire the remainder of Zodia Custody, a company it founded with Northern Trust. The bank also began offering institutional spot trading in bitcoin and ether through its Dubai branch’s foreign-exchange platform last month.
Taken together, the moves show that the bank’s digital-asset activity is focused on institutional infrastructure and services rather than direct retail access. The planned Singapore custody service would bring crypto assets, stablecoins and tokenized assets within the same broad custody framework used for clients’ wider asset needs.
Patrick Lee, Standard Chartered’s Singapore chief executive, said the bank was seeing increased institutional demand for trusted infrastructure for moving and safeguarding tokenized assets. Singapore is a major Asian wealth-management and digital-asset center, making the proposed expansion significant for the bank’s regional custody network.
The announcement is not unprecedented among global banks. BNY has expanded its digital-asset custody platform to include USDC custody and minting, and later added staking. Standard Chartered’s plan nevertheless broadens its Singapore offering by explicitly covering stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets alongside cryptocurrencies.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at 10:29 a.m. on October 8, 2026, showed Comedian (BAN) at $0.0645572081, up 1.34% over 24 hours but down 4.68% over seven days. Request (REQ) was priced at $0.0541966453, with a 24-hour gain of 1.34% and a seven-day decline of 4.52%.
RedStone (RED) stood at $0.1516537395, rising 0.96% in 24 hours and falling 15.86% over seven days. Moneyiar’s data for WOULD, recorded at 9:04 p.m. on September 22, 2026, showed the token at $0.0351412837, up 0.33% over 24 hours and 10.6% over seven days.
These figures are provided as market context and do not represent the assets Standard Chartered has said it will support. The bank has not yet named the digital assets that would be covered by its Singapore custody service.
According to CoinDesk, Standard Chartered’s proposal reflects the continuing development of regulated custody and tokenization services for professional investors. Its eventual launch remains dependent on applicable regulatory requirements, while the supported assets and timing are still unannounced.
