Standard Chartered secured a MiCA license from Luxembourg's CSSF on June 29, allowing EU-wide digital asset custody and stablecoin services. The bank plans phased expansion from its Luxembourg hub.
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Standard Chartered secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license from Luxembourg's financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), the bank said on June 29. The authorization arrives just ahead of the July 1 deadline when MiCA's transitional period ends for crypto-asset service providers operating in the European Union.
The license lets Standard Chartered offer regulated digital asset custody and related services across the EU under a single regulatory passport. The bank plans a phased expansion of broader digital asset capabilities from its Luxembourg hub, which it has chosen as its European base for crypto operations.
Standard Chartered Director of Digital Assets Emily A. said in a statement that the bank had spent the past year focused on securing authorization to provide digital asset custody services. The Luxembourg entity also received an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the CSSF, which authorizes the bank to issue electronic money, provide digital payment services, and facilitate money transfers under regulatory oversight. That means Standard Chartered can now support regulated stablecoin services as part of its offering.
The bank's institutional digital asset platform already covers custody, trading, tokenization, tokenized deposits, collateral mirroring, and stablecoin infrastructure. Through its Zodia Custody venture, it supports more than 75 cryptoassets and tokenized assets for institutional clients. Zodia Markets provides T+0 institutional settlement, stablecoin payment orchestration, and access to over 70 digital assets across 20+ fiat currencies.
In July 2025, Standard Chartered became the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to launch deliverable spot Bitcoin and Ether trading for institutional clients. The bank is also developing infrastructure for tokenized deposits, tokenized securities custody, and off-exchange crypto collateral mirroring.
The MiCA license places Standard Chartered among a limited group of crypto firms that have secured authorization under the EU's harmonized licensing regime. MiCA replaces fragmented national rules with a single framework across member states, allowing licensed firms to operate throughout the bloc without separate approvals in each country.
European Commission advisor Peter Kerstens recently wrote in an op-ed that the region is continuing to explore additional regulatory measures beyond MiCA while supporting innovation.
Standard Chartered's Luxembourg decision follows a pattern of major crypto firms choosing the jurisdiction as their MiCA hub. Coinbase has also announced Luxembourg as its European base for MiCA compliance.
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