Standard Chartered Launches UAE Bitcoin Trading as River Sees BTC Price Reaching $840K

• Standard Chartered has launched institutional spot Bitcoin and Ether trading in the UAE, giving professional investors a new route into the crypto market
• The move adds weight to the growing Bitcoin institutional adoption in the UAE as major financial institutions expand their digital-asset services
• Meanwhile, bullish Bitcoin price prediction models are gaining attention, with River projecting a potential rise toward $840,000 within five years if institutional allocations increase significantly

Bitcoin’s price is still under pressure, but institutional interest in crypto is not slowing down. Standard Chartered has just expanded its Bitcoin business in the UAE, giving professional investors another way to trade the asset. At the same time, some analysts are putting surprisingly high numbers on Bitcoin’s long-term potential. For now, the market has plenty to prove before those forecasts look realistic.

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Standard Chartered Brings Bitcoin Trading to the UAE

Standard Chartered has launched spot trading in Bitcoin and Ether for institutional clients in the UAE, giving professional investors another route into the crypto market. The service operates through the bank’s Dubai International Financial Centre entity and builds on its existing digital-asset custody business in the country.

The move is notable because Standard Chartered is the first global systemically important bank, or G-SIB, to offer institutional spot crypto trading in the UAE. Clients can trade through the bank’s existing electronic trading infrastructure, rather than having to treat crypto as a completely separate financial market.

This is pertinent for Bitcoin’s entry into the UAE. The region has spent years positioning itself as a hub for digital assets, and a major international bank putting regulated trading infrastructure behind Bitcoin adds another layer of institutional credibility.

Standard Chartered has also been building its digital-asset business beyond trading. Its UAE custody service, launched in 2024 under a Dubai Financial Services Authority licence, initially supported Bitcoin and Ethereum.

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Bitcoin Price Prediction Gets More Ambitious

Bitcoin is currently trading around $77,600, after recovering from a recent dip toward $76,400. It should be noted that buyers have been defending the roughly $76,350 average cost basis of active investors. But recent spot ETF outflows show that the recovery still has some work to do.

River published research this week modelling a potential Bitcoin price of up to $840,000 within five years if institutional allocations increase substantially. Its analysis points out that investment advisers currently have only a tiny average Bitcoin allocation, despite Bitcoin becoming more established within mainstream portfolios.

Other bullish projections are circulating too, including a $170,000-$190,000 target for the 2027-2029 period. Those numbers remain forecasts, not promises. For now, the more immediate story may be the steady arrival of institutions. Standard Chartered’s UAE launch is another sign that Bitcoin is becoming increasingly woven into the traditional financial system.

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