Standard Chartered and Circle have created a system that allows institutional clients to mint and redeem the USDC stablecoin through a bank‑led onboarding process. The service, launched in the Dubai International Financial Centre, marks the first offering of USDC minting and redemption by a Global Systemically Important Bank. Clients will access the functionality directly via Standard Chartered’s platform rather than maintaining separate accounts with Circle.

The initial rollout will be limited to the DIFC, with plans to expand to additional jurisdictions depending on regulatory approval and client demand. The integration is intended to support use cases such as on‑chain settlement, treasury management and liquidity provision, and may later facilitate payment‑related applications.

Roberto Hoornweg, CEO of corporate and investment banking at Standard Chartered, said the partnership aims to bring traditional banking controls and regulatory oversight to digital asset markets, thereby enabling broader institutional participation. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire previously noted that USDC’s network effects position it as a leading stablecoin amid competition from other offerings such as Open USD.

The collaboration reflects growing efforts to embed stablecoin infrastructure within traditional banking frameworks as issuers and financial institutions seek to shape the distribution and access of digital assets.