Standard Chartered offers USDC mint/redeem to institutions

Standard Chartered has become the first Global Systemically Important Bank to offer its institutional clients direct access to mint and redeem the USDC stablecoin, through a new service launched in partnership with Circle. The service, which began operating on July 2, 2026, through the bank's Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) operations, allows eligible clients to use USDC without needing to open a separate account with Circle.

The partnership integrates Circle's stablecoin infrastructure directly into Standard Chartered's institutional banking platform. This provides clients a single, bank-led channel to move between traditional fiat currencies and the blockchain-based USDC, combining banking, custody, and digital asset services. Bank officials stated the service is designed to support institutional activities including on-chain settlement, treasury operations, and liquidity management, with plans to expand into payment-related use cases.

Roberto Hoornweg, Chief Executive Officer for Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Chartered, said digital assets are becoming an increasingly important part of global financial infrastructure, and that clients demand the...