渣打在阿联酋推出比特币与以太币直接交易：获迪拜VARA牌照，成国际银行首例
据CoinDesk 10月14日报道，渣打银行已在阿联酋推出面向富裕客户的加密货币交易服务，符合条件的投资者可通过其现有银行账户买卖比特币和以太币。
该行表示，这项服务初期仅面向被归类为专业投资者的客户，是国际银行在阿联酋推出的首个此类服务。渣打同时表示，这也是该行首次在任何市场直接向富裕客户提供加密货币交易。
渣打称，客户无需另开加密货币钱包或使用第三方交易平台；该行采用"闭环"模式，在自身生态系统内管理托管与结算。这项服务结合了渣打的财富与零售银行以及企业与投资银行部门，并通过其风险投资部门SC Ventures支持的Zodia Markets运营。渣打表示，已获得迪拜虚拟资产监管局（VARA）的牌照批准；据AGBI报道，其阿联酋境内实体已获得VARA颁发的完整经纪自营商牌照。
渣打此前已通过其英国部门于去年7月推出机构比特币和以太币现货交易，并于今年9月3日将该机构服务扩展到阿联酋。该行还向符合条件的客户提供加密货币ETF、结构性产品和场外衍生品。渣打表示计划将新交易服务扩展到其他市场，但未给出时间表。
Standard Chartered Unlocks Direct Bitcoin and Ether Trading for Affluent UAE Clients
Standard Chartered has introduced a crypto trading service for affluent clients in the United Arab Emirates, allowing eligible investors to buy and sell bitcoin and ether through their existing bank accounts, CoinDesk reported on October 14.
The service will initially be available to clients classified as professional investors, and the London-based lender said it is the first of its kind offered by an international bank in the UAE.The debut is also a global first for Standard Chartered, according to the bank, because it marks the first time it has offered cryptocurrency trading directly to wealthy clients in any market.
The bank said it will manage custody and settlement within its own ecosystem using a closed-loop model, meaning clients will not need separate cryptocurrency wallets or third-party trading platforms. The service brings together Standard Chartered's wealth and retail banking and corporate and investment banking businesses and operates through Zodia Markets, which is backed by the bank's SC Ventures unit. Standard Chartered said it has received licensing approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA); AGBI reported its onshore UAE entity received a full broker-dealer licence from VARA.
The bank introduced institutional bitcoin and ether spot trading through its UK arm in July last year and expanded that offering to the UAE on September 3. Standard Chartered already offers eligible clients access to crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), structured products and over-the-counter derivatives. It plans to expand the new trading service to other markets, but did not give a timetable in the announcement.
图片来源：迪拜天际线。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，Robert Bock 摄，CC0 授权
