MidChains has partnered with Standard Chartered, which will provide fiat settlement, segregated client money accounts, and correspondent banking.
UAE-based MidChains holds a broker-dealer licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to serve retail, institutional, and qualified investors, and has operated as a regulated entity since 2019. Standard Chartered will support MidChains with a range of banking services, which will underpin its day-to-day operations and settlement, connecting its institutional digital asset activity with the banking infrastructure used for fiat settlement.
Banking services for a digital asset broker
The services include fiat settlement capabilities, segregated client money accounts, which keep client funds separate from the company’s own, and correspondent banking. MidChains offers institutional over-the-counter execution, regulated on- and off-ramps between fiat and digital assets, and stablecoin-based corporate treasury execution and cross-border settlement for institutional and corporate clients globally.
Rola Abu Manneh, CEO, UAE, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, stated that the UAE has become an established regulatory environment for digital assets and a global financial centre, creating conditions for regulated digital asset firms and established financial institutions to work together. According to Abu Manneh, the partnership puts that opportunity into practice, with the bank providing services that support MidChains’ institutional activity.
Connecting traditional and digital markets
Basil Al Askari, CEO of MidChains, stated that institutional capital moves continuously between traditional and digital markets, and the infrastructure supporting that activity must keep pace. According to Al Askari, digital asset services for institutional investors need to connect with the banking system that supports their wider activity, and the partnership brings that connection to MidChains’ services, supporting clients as capital moves between the two.
MidChains is backed by investors including Mubadala Investment Company, Lunate, MIAX Exchange Group, Brevan Howard, GSR, Emurgo, Dhabi Holdings, and Ava Labs. According to the companies, the partnership shows how the UAE’s regulated financial ecosystem can link digital asset firms with established banking capabilities to support international business.
