As a researcher with a background in finance and experience following the evolving landscape of digital assets, I’m excited to see Standard Chartered’s latest move into spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The bank’s decision to establish a crypto trading desk within its FX unit marks a significant milestone for the industry, as it is among the first global banks to engage in such activity.


As a researcher, I’m excited to share that Standard Chartered, a renowned British multinational bank, is preparing to launch a trading desk specifically for Bitcoin and Ether. This marks an important milestone as they will be among the first global banks to enter the world of spot cryptocurrency trading.

For some time now, Standard Chartered has been actively interacting with key players in the digital asset sector and has entered into collaborations with various organizations due to the rising interest in cryptocurrencies.

Standard Chartered Ventures Into Spot Trading

Based on information from two unnamed sources mentioned in a recent Bloomberg article, the new cryptocurrency trading desk is almost ready for business and will be merged into the bank’s Foreign Exchange (FX) trading team. One of these sources added that this desk would be situated in London.

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed that my bank has been hesitant to disclose details about their newest undertaking. However, they have hinted at the increasing interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum among their institutional clientele. The email communication I received stated, “We are exploring opportunities in response to the surging demand for digital currencies from our institutional clients.”

“Our team has been collaborating closely with regulatory bodies to facilitate Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for our institutional clients. This aligns with our overall goal of providing comprehensive services in the digital asset sector, ranging from access and safekeeping to tokenization and seamless integration between different platforms.”

Standard Chartered, among other leading financial institutions, is broadening its presence in the digital asset industry in response to escalating institutional interest. The bank presently owns shares in two cryptocurrency companies: Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets. These firms provide a spectrum of services including custody and over-the-counter trading.

Last year in March, Coinbase, the digital currency exchange, revealed a strategic collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank for its users based in Singapore.

Approximately a few months after the announcement, Standard Chartered introduced “Libeara” – a new branch dedicated to blockchain technology, designed to help institutional clients with the process of tokenizing conventional assets. At present, this department is primarily working on establishing a fund based on tokenized Singaporean dollar government bonds.

Standard Chartered Bullish on Digital Assets

In a recent blog post published in February, the bank expressed its belief that digital assets hold significant importance and will be a permanent fixture in the evolution of financial services. The bank also highlighted the potential of stablecoins.

The bank is quite optimistic about Bitcoin’s price fluctuations and has projected that it could touch $250,000 by 2025, given that the estimated inflows into a potential bitcoin spot ETF land at the mid-point of $75 billion.

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2024-06-21 18:30