On March 6, 2025, Dubai NBD Bank launched a new cryptocurrency trading app in partnership with Standard Chartered, marking a significant entry of traditional banking into the crypto market. The app supports trading in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), with trading pairs available against USD and AED. Within the first hour of its launch, the app saw over 10,000 downloads, indicating strong initial interest.
The launch led to a surge in cryptocurrency prices, with BTC/USD rising 3% to $65,000 and ETH/USD increasing 2.5% to $3,800. Trading volumes on major exchanges also increased, with Binance reporting a 20% rise in BTC/USD trading volume and local exchanges seeing a 15% increase in trading volume for BTC/AED and ETH/AED pairs. This marks a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market, particularly in the Middle East region.
The app’s support for multiple trading pairs, including BTC/AED and ETH/AED, has led to increased interest from new investors, with on-chain metrics showing a 5% increase in new address creation within the first two hours of the announcement. Technical indicators, such as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), also indicate a bullish trend for both BTC and ETH.
The launch of Dubai NBD’s trading app has also led to an increase in trading volumes for other altcoins like XRP and BNB, indicating a broader market impact. In the context of AI developments, the launch could potentially influence AI-related tokens, such as SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.ai (FET), which saw a 4% increase in price. The correlation between AI tokens and major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH remains strong, suggesting that positive developments in the broader crypto market can have a direct impact on AI token prices. Overall, the launch of Dubai NBD’s trading app marks a significant milestone in the crypto market, with potential long-term implications for traditional banking and the broader crypto ecosystem.