SC Ventures cues up $100M crypto startup investment vehicle in UAE
SC Ventures, the Singapore-headquartered fintech investment arm of British financial services giant Standard Chartered, is set to forge a “Digital Asset Joint Venture” investment company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in collaboration with Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings.
Broad spectrum of crypto sector investment
The CEO of SC Ventures, Alex Manson, outlined the joint venture’s strategic objectives in a press release published from Dubai on Thursday. Manson emphasized a focus on making strategic and minority investments in crucial areas such as market infrastructure, risk management, compliance tools, DeFi, tokenization, consumer payments and the metaverse.
SBI Holdings has been collaborating quite a bit with Standard Chartered when it comes to the digital assets space over the course of the past year. It has invested in Standard Chartered subsidiary company Zodia Custody, a digital assets custodian. Subsequently, Zodia Custody has gone on to launch its services in Dubai, and in September, the company launched its services in Singapore.
Meanwhile, SBI is similarly invested in Standard Chartered subsidiary Zodia Markets, an exchange and brokerage platform which recently received approval to trade in the UAE as a broker-dealer. A report by Nikkei Asia last month outlined that Standard Chartered is very much making a concerted effort to muscle its way into the Asian crypto space.
Speaking at RippleSwell, an event held in Dubai earlier this week organized by blockchain company Ripple Labs, Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer stated:
“Blockchain is the future, tokenization is the future. It’s a question of how we get there and what speed we do that.”
Building out a regional hub
This recent partnership comes as the UAE works towards strengthening its position as a fintech hub, leveraging improved infrastructure and a local talent base. Despite its roots in the UAE, the joint venture aims to explore opportunities within the global digital asset ecosystem. Manson highlighted the commitment to broader exploration beyond the local market, indicating a global perspective in navigating emerging opportunities.
This development follows Standard Chartered’s earlier memorandum of understanding with the Dubai International Financial Centre in May. This agreement granted the bank approval to extend digital asset custody services to institutional clients on a global scale.
While deeply entrenched in the crypto custody business, Standard Chartered is also actively engaging with the digital economy’s broader facets. In June, the bank partnered with PricewaterhouseCoopers China to produce a white paper on applications for central bank digital currency in the Greater Bay Area of China, encompassing Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao.
Both SBI and Standard Chartered are collaborating with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a project that seeks to build a comprehensive framework for the provision of interoperable and open networks for tokenized digital assets.
This multifaceted approach positions Standard Chartered as a key player navigating the dynamic intersection of traditional finance and the evolving digital landscape. Market reaction to this recent development has been positive with one crypto sector participant stating:
”Excited to see Standard Chartered expanding its services to accommodate the growing demand for crypto custody, especially in the UAE where the regulatory environment appears to be more favorable. This move could pave the way for increased institutional adoption of Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
