Standard Chartered has expressed readiness to accelerate its crypto adoption by launching a trading desk for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Standard Chartered is ready to become one of the first global banks to introduce a spot crypto trading desk to its customers. As revealed by representatives familiar with the matter, the new desk will start operations once everything is set up and will be a part of the bank’s foreign exchange trading unit. The desk will be controlled in the bank’s London subsidiary.
Standard Chartered Starts Crypto Trading
As Bloomberg reported on Friday, Standard Chartered is working towards establishing a cryptocurrency trading desk soon. The company revealed that this establishment will satisfy customer demands for Bitcoin and Ethereum trading on its platform.
In an emailed statement, the bank said, “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,”
Notably, Standard Chartered has exercised trust in cryptocurrency by investing in Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, crypto firms that offer digital asset custody and exchange services.
Following this information, Binance’s CEO, Richard Teng, welcomed Standard Chartered into the crypto industry in a recent post on X.
Focused on satisfying customer interests, the bank has launched Libeara, a platform built to help users tokenize their local assets. Libeara allows government treasuries and banks to issue tokenized bonds. They enable investors to easily subscribe to tokenized bonds and store them in digital wallets. In addition, it adopts the blockchain, allowing transparency in transaction history.
Customers Requesting for Crypto Trading Services
A few other Banks have been trading crypto futures for quite a while now but have not stepped into spot trading due to regulatory issues. Customers have shown keen interest in spot crypto trading, and Goldman’s Hedge Fund Clients have expressed similar concerns.
Speaking about customer’s interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading, Max Minton, Goldman’s Asia Pacific head of digital assets, said in an interview, “The recent ETF approval has triggered a resurgence of interest and activities from our clients,” He added, “Many of our largest clients are active or exploring getting active in the space.”