Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited announced on October 8, 2026 that it plans to provide custody for selected cryptoassets, stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets to institutional and accredited investor corporate clients in Singapore. The move adds Singapore to the bank’s digital asset custody network and puts a global systemically important bank directly into regulated digital asset safekeeping in one of Southeast Asia’s main financial centres.
Key Facts At A Glance
- The bank plans to offer custody of selected cryptoassets, stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets.
- The service will be available to institutional clients and accredited investor corporate clients.
- The offering remains subject to applicable regulatory requirements.
- The bank’s global head for digital assets said it aims to launch the service by the end of the year.
- Singapore joins the bank’s existing digital asset custody operations in the UAE, Luxembourg and Hong Kong.
- The service will sit within the bank’s Financing & Securities Services business in Singapore.
- The announcement follows the bank’s move to bring Zodia Custody’s regulated business in-house.
Service Scope And Target Clients
Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited said it plans to provide custody services for selected cryptoassets, stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets to institutional clients and accredited investor corporate clients, subject to applicable regulatory requirements. The bank said the move responds to demand from institutional and corporate clients for secure, regulated digital asset custody.
Ying Ying Tan, global head for digital assets at Standard Chartered, said the bank aims to launch the custody offering by the end of the year. The announcement did not specify which cryptoassets or stablecoins will be supported. Publicly available information on the service’s licensing status in Singapore also remains limited.
In Singapore, the planned service will complement the bank’s Financing & Securities Services business and combine traditional asset servicing, tokenisation and digital asset custody. The bank said this will let it serve institutional clients across a wider range of asset lifecycles, from safeguarding traditional assets to holding tokenised assets.
Regional Footprint And Executive Comments
The bank already provides digital asset custody in markets including the UAE, Luxembourg and Hong Kong, and said it is extending this infrastructure to more regulated markets. It described Singapore as an important part of that strategy.
Patrick Lee, Chief Executive Officer for Singapore and for ASEAN and South Asia, said Singapore has a strong institutional ecosystem and growing demand for trusted digital asset solutions. He added that robust infrastructure will be critical for moving, safekeeping and servicing tokenised assets at institutional scale.
Ole Matthiessen, Global Head of Transaction Services and Digital Assets, said secure and regulated custody is a foundation of the digital asset ecosystem. He said that, as a global systemically important bank, Standard Chartered provides the trust, security and institutional safeguards needed for wider market participation. He also said the bank will continue investing in digital asset capabilities across key financial centres as client demand grows.
Zodia Custody Integration
The Singapore plan follows the bank’s move to bring more of its crypto custody operations in-house. Zodia Custody, which Standard Chartered incubated with Northern Trust in 2020, has operated in Singapore since September 2023, offering institutional crypto asset services. In May 2026, the bank said its non-binding offer for Zodia Custody had been accepted. Separately, Anchorage Digital Singapore began offering institutional USD accounts and SWIFT transfers to eligible clients through a partnership with Standard Chartered in October 2026.