The bank’s new tie-up with Circle lets institutional clients mint and redeem USDC without opening a separate account, launching first in Dubai.
Posted July 2, 2026 at 10:11 pm EST.
Standard Chartered announced it has become the first Global Systemically Important Bank licensed to let institutional clients mint and redeem USDC directly through the bank, without opening a separate account with issuer Circle.
The capability, developed with Circle, gives eligible clients a single onboarding process to convert dollars into USDC and back while staying inside the bank’s existing risk, compliance, and governance framework. It launched first through Standard Chartered’s Dubai International Financial Centre operations, with the bank saying it plans to expand into additional markets subject to regulatory approval.
Roberto Hoornweg, Standard Chartered’s chief executive of corporate and investment banking, said in the announcement that “digital assets are becoming an increasingly important component of global financial infrastructure, and institutional clients are seeking the same levels of trust and governance that underpin traditional markets,” adding that the goal is “enabling broader institutional participation in digital asset markets through the frameworks, controls and regulatory oversight that have long supported confidence in global financial markets.”
The service targets on-chain settlement, treasury, and liquidity management, with payment-related use cases planned for later. Circle’s chief commercial officer, Kash Razzaghi, said in the announcement that “financial institutions are increasingly looking for trusted ways to access stablecoins and participate in blockchain-enabled financial markets,” and that integrating Circle’s infrastructure into Standard Chartered’s platform gives clients new ways to use USDC “while maintaining the compliance, governance and risk management standards they expect.”
Standard Chartered isn’t the first bank overall to build this kind of bank-led USDC access. Three days earlier, on June 29, BNY expanded its own relationship with Circle, making USDC the first stablecoin on its Digital Asset Custody platform and letting clients store, transfer, mint, and burn the token. Standard Chartered’s claim is narrower and specific to the roughly 30 banks worldwide classified as Global Systemically Important Banks, a designation carrying heightened regulatory scrutiny.
The launch extends a buildout Standard Chartered has been running for more than a year. The bank has helped design Circle’s Payments Network since April 2025 alongside Santander, Deutsche Bank, and Société Générale, and in April received one of Hong Kong’s first two stablecoin issuer licences through Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture with Animoca Brands and HKT. Circle has similarly rotated through banking partners before to keep USDC’s minting and redemption pipeline running, including after the 2023 collapse of Signature Bank forced it to onboard Cross River Bank on short notice.
USDC currently carries a market cap of about $73 billion.
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