Key Points
- Standard Chartered is preparing to launch a spot crypto trading desk for Bitcoin and Ether.
- The bank is expanding its presence in the cryptocurrency market due to increased institutional adoption.
Standard Chartered, a renowned multinational bank, is reportedly on the verge of starting its own spot crypto trading desk for Bitcoin and Ethereum. This news comes from unnamed sources who are familiar with the matter.
Spot Crypto Trading Desk
The bank’s move into the spot crypto trading market is said to be part of its foreign exchange unit. It is expected that this new crypto trading desk will be managed from London.
The bank stated via email, “We have been working closely with our regulators to support demand from our institutional clients to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum, in line with our strategy to support clients across the wider digital asset ecosystem, from access and custody to tokenization and interoperability.”
Increased Involvement in Cryptocurrency
Standard Chartered is among the growing number of large banks that are increasing their involvement in the cryptocurrency market. This is in response to the rising institutional adoption of this sector.
The bank has stakes in two digital asset firms, Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, which offer a variety of services from crypto custody to over-the-counter (OTC) trading. In November, Standard Chartered launched a blockchain unit called Libeara to help institutions with the tokenization of real-world assets. This includes supporting the deployment of a tokenized government bond fund using the Singaporean dollar.
The price of Bitcoin fell by over 2% in the past 24 hours and was trading at $64,203 at 5:58 a.m. ET. The GMCI 30 index, which represents a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, also fell by 1.97% to 129.86 in the same period.
