Standard Chartered Plans to Offer Spot Trading Desk for Bitcoin and Ethereum

Standard Chartered Bank is planning to offer a spot trading desk for Bitcoin and Ethereum to enable direct spot trading of cryptocurrencies, according to an insider. This latest development aligns with the multinational bank’s huge interest in the crypto market.

Standard Chartered Spot Trading Offering Meets Institutional Demand

The London-based bank is among several large financial institutions expanding their involvement in the cryptocurrency market as institutional adoption of the sector increases.

The insider quoted by Bloomberg claimed that Standard Chartered spot trading desk would operate from London and be a part of the bank’s FX division.

Standard Chartered has been a covert player in the crypto sector for a while. The bank holds substantial stakes in crypto firms, Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets. Zodia Custoday offers crypto custody services, while Zodia Markets offers crypto trading for institutions.

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These crypto-centric investments underline the bank’s commitment to the digital asset space and its readiness to provide services to its clients.

Meanwhile, the forthcoming debut of Standard Chartered spot trading desk coincides with the rollout of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) across major markets, especially in Asia and North America.

Crypto enthusiasts expect Standard Chartered’s Bitcoin and Ethereum desk to pave the way for other major banks to offer spot crypto trading services to retail and institutional investors.

Besides the trading desk, Standard Chartered has remained bullish on Bitcoin and Ethereum prices. The banking giant expects the rollout of spot Bitcoin ETF to propel the Bitcoin price to $200K by 2024.

Standard Chartered also expects Ethereum to surpass $8,000 by the end of 2024 following the approval of spot Ether ETF.

Standard Chartered Continues Blockchain Expansion

In addition to its involvement in cryptocurrency trading, Standard Chartered has been actively exploring blockchain technology to improve financial services.

In November 2023, the London-based bank launched a blockchain unit called Libeara to assist institutions with the tokenization of real-world assets. Libeara partnered with FundBridge Capital, a Singapore-regulated fund platform, to create a tokenized Singapore-dollar government bond fund for accredited investors.

Tokenization is the process of converting physical or tangible assets into digital tokens on a blockchain, representing ownership and facilitating easier and more secure trading.

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In the same vein, HSBC Holdings recently launched a platform to tokenize ownership of physical gold held in its London vault, and UBS Asset Management initiated a pilot for a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum in October 2023.