Standard Chartered launches institutional USDC minting and redemption in Dubai, echoing BNY Mellon

Standard Chartered said on July 2 that it has launched access for eligible institutional clients to mint and redeem USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, through the bank, initially via its Dubai International Financial Centre operations. The bank described the rollout as making it the first global systemically important bank, or G-SIB, licensed to offer integrated institutional access to USDC minting and redemption through a single onboarding and service experience, but that characterization is complicated by Bank of New York Mellon’s June 29 announcement of a similar Circle-linked capability.

The launch is the latest sign that large banks are moving deeper into stablecoin infrastructure as institutional clients look to use tokenized dollars for functions such as on-chain settlement, treasury management and liquidity management. Bringing minting and redemption into a bank relationship can reduce friction for clients by embedding access within existing banking onboarding, compliance and treasury workflows, rather than requiring a separate direct account with a crypto issuer.

Standard Chartered and Circle said eligible institutional clients can access USDC through a single onboarding and service experience without needing to hold direct accounts with Circle. The service is initially available through Standard Chartered’s DIFC operations in Dubai, and the bank said it plans to expand to other markets, subject to regulatory approvals and market readiness.

In a statement, Roberto Hoornweg, chief executive officer for corporate and investment banking at Standard Chartered, said institutional clients are seeking in digital assets “the same levels of trust and governance that underpin traditional markets.”

Circle published a matching announcement on July 2 confirming the partnership and describing the same institutional setup. The companies said the initial use cases include on-chain settlement, treasury management and liquidity management.

The bank’s “first G-SIB” framing, however, sits uneasily with BNY’s public announcement three days earlier. On June 29, BNY and Circle said BNY clients could hold USDC in custody at BNY and, “through BNY … instruct Circle to convert (‘mint’) U.S. dollars into USDC and to redeem (‘burn’) USDC for U.S. dollars.” BNY is also designated a G-SIB, meaning the public record shows another globally systemic bank had already announced a Circle-linked mint and redeem pathway for institutional clients.

Standard Chartered’s wording is narrower: It said it is the first G-SIB licensed to offer integrated access to USDC minting and redemption through a single onboarding and service experience without requiring clients to hold direct Circle accounts. But based on the June 29 BNY and Circle release, any “first” claim depends on distinctions in product structure and licensing language that were not fully detailed in the announcements.

The timing reflects a broader shift toward formalized stablecoin infrastructure. The GENIUS Act, which created a U.S. federal framework for payment stablecoins, became law on July 18, 2025. Circle also said on July 10 that it received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank, a regulatory milestone that adds to its institutional buildout.

USDC is one of the largest stablecoins, with a market capitalization of about $73 billion as of mid-July, according to CoinGecko data cited in research.

Taken together, the Standard Chartered and BNY announcements point to a market that is shifting from standalone crypto access toward bank-mediated stablecoin services for institutional users. Standard Chartered said its own rollout will start in Dubai and expand to other jurisdictions as approvals are obtained and local markets are ready.