MidChains Names Standard Chartered as Banking Partner in UAE
VARA-licensed broker-dealer MidChains has named Standard Chartered as its banking partner, with the bank providing fiat settlement, segregated client money accounts and correspondent banking for the UAE-headquartered firm's institutional services.
Standard Chartered will provide fiat settlement, segregated client money accounts and correspondent banking to MidChains FZE, a digital asset platform licensed by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), under a strategic banking partnership the two firms announced on November 12, 2026. The announcement was distributed as a sponsored press release via Chainwire, datelined Dubai.
According to the release, those services will power MidChains' day-to-day operations and enable efficient settlement.
MidChains holds a VARA licence to provide broker-dealer services to retail, institutional and qualified investors. For a firm in that position, the bank relationship sits underneath client activity: segregated client money accounts keep customer funds separate from the firm's own.
"Institutional capital moves continuously between traditional and digital markets, and the infrastructure supporting that activity must keep pace."
Basil Al Askari, CEO, MidChains
Standard Chartered's UAE chief framed the deal in terms of the jurisdiction.
"The UAE has established itself as one of the world's leading regulatory environments for digital assets and a global centre for financial activity."
Rola Abu Manneh, CEO UAE, Middle East and Pakistan, Standard Chartered
Who is involved
MidChains is headquartered in the UAE, serves institutional and corporate clients globally, and says it has operated as a regulated entity since 2019. Its services include institutional OTC execution, regulated on/off ramps, and stablecoin-enabled corporate treasury execution and cross-border settlement. Backers named in the release are Mubadala Investment Company, Lunate, MIAX Exchange Group, Brevan Howard, GSR, Emurgo, Dhabi Holdings and Ava Labs.
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges and has a presence in 55 markets.
Context
The partnership is the latest digital asset move from Standard Chartered. The bank has gone live with institutional custody for Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and has set out plans for crypto custody in Singapore.
