StanChart Bets Big on Crypto with BTC and Ether Trading Desk

• Standard Chartered is reportedly setting up a new crypto asset.
• The move comes as crypto continues to draw institutional interest.
• StanChart owns stakes in two crypto-focused companies.

Standard Chartered Plc is reportedly pushing deeper into crypto with plans to set up a Bitcoin and Ether trading desk as part of its foreign exchange (FX) trading unit.

The development comes almost a month after the global banking giant’s subsidiary in Hong Kong teamed up with Mastercard on May 14 to complete a proof-of-concept pilot on tokenized deposits and tokenized carbon credits through a regulatory sandbox.

Standard Chartered Bitcoin and Ether Desk

Bloomberg reported on June 21 that Standard Chartered’s new Bitcoin and Ether trading desk is “close to starting operations” and will be run from London.

While the report quoted anonymous individuals asking not to be named discussing private information, it provided an excerpt of a statement supposedly emailed by the bank.

“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.”

The news of Standard Chartered’s move to delve deeper into crypto was well-received by industry leaders, including Binance CEO Richard Teng, who shared the report with his almost 300,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter).

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Headquartered in London, Standard Chartered is among several other global banks capitalizing on crypto’s forays into institutional adoption. The bank has stakes in two crypto firms, Zodia Markets, and Zodia Custody, which offer services ranging from over-the-counter (OTC) trading and custody.

The bank has yet to make an official comment on the development.

Read about Zodia Custody’s yield service on crypto holdings:
Standard Chartered Zodia Custody Introduces Yields on Crypto Holdings

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