Markets
Standard Chartered to launch Bitcoin and Ether Trading Desk: report
British multinational bank Standard Chartered is ready to roll out a trading desk for Bitcoin and Ether. This latest development makes it one of the first global banks to launch into spot trading of cryptocurrencies.
Standard Chartered has been engaging with players in the digital assets sector for some time and has also partnered with several entities amid growing demand for crypto exposure.
Standard Chartered Companies in Spot Trading
According to two anonymous sources cited by the latest Bloomberg report, the new crypto desk is almost operational and will be integrated with the bank’s FX trading unit. A source also revealed that she would be based in London.
The bank is yet to confirm its latest move but highlighted the growing demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum from its institutional clients. An emailed statement regarding the case read:
“We have worked closely with our regulators to meet our institutional clients’ demand to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum, in line with our strategy to support clients across the digital asset ecosystem, from access and from curation to tokenization and interoperability.”
Alongside several major players, Standard Chartered has started to expand further into the digital assets sector to meet growing institutional demand. The bank currently has stakes in two cryptocurrency companies – Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets – which offer services ranging from custody to over-the-counter trading.
Crypto exchange Coinbase announcement a strategic banking partnership with Standard Chartered for Singapore users in March last year.
A few months later, Standard Chartered launched “Libeara”, a blockchain division intended to help institutional players tokenize traditional assets. The unit is currently focused on developing a tokenized Singapore dollar-denominated government bond fund.
Standard Chartered bullish on digital assets
In a blog positionIn February this year, the bank said it sees digital assets as an important and permanent part of the future of financial services, while also evaluating the potential of stablecoins.
The bank has also been extremely optimistic when predicting Bitcoin price movements and even predicted that the cryptocurrency could reach $250,000 in 2025 if spot ETF inflows reach the median estimate of $75 billion.