Standard Chartered becomes first global systemic bank to offer institutional USDC minting #

Standard Chartered has begun offering eligible institutional clients direct access to minting and redeeming the USDC stablecoin, a step in the bank’s expansion into regulated digital-asset services.

According to the bank’s announcement, the capability was developed in partnership with Circle Internet Group, the issuer of USDC, and lets institutions create and redeem the token through Standard Chartered without opening their own accounts with Circle. The lender said the offering makes it the first Global Systemically Important Bank licensed to provide such integrated access through a single onboarding and service experience.

The service initially launches through Standard Chartered’s operations in the Dubai International Financial Centre. The bank said the move reinforces the United Arab Emirates’ standing as a hub for regulated digital-asset activity and described it as the first phase of a broader global stablecoin strategy. It said it intends to extend the capability into further markets over time, subject to regulatory approvals and market readiness.

Standard Chartered described the launch as a way to connect traditional banking with blockchain-based finance, allowing clients to move value between the two systems with greater speed and transparency. The bank said the capability supports institutional uses such as on-chain settlement, treasury operations and liquidity management, and that the infrastructure is also designed to accommodate payment-related uses in future. By embedding USDC access within its institutional offering, the bank said it aims to combine banking, custody and digital-asset services under the compliance and governance standards expected of a major international financial institution.

Kash Razzaghi, Circle’s chief commercial officer, said financial institutions are increasingly seeking trusted ways to access stablecoins and take part in blockchain-enabled markets. He added that integrating Circle’s infrastructure into Standard Chartered’s platform would help institutions use USDC across payments, settlement and treasury functions while retaining familiar risk controls.

The companies said the announcement reflects rising demand from banks and corporations for regulated stablecoin infrastructure that can support payments, settlement, treasury and liquidity management. For Standard Chartered, the effort forms part of a wider digital-assets strategy that spans markets, securities services, custody and digital market infrastructure.

Source: Standard Chartered