Standard Chartered PLC launched digital assets spot trading for institutional clients on Monday, marking a watershed moment as the first global systemically important bank to offer deliverable Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD trading services.
What Happened: The London-based bank now provides spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum through its UK branch, with plans to introduce non-deliverable forwards trading soon. The service targets institutional clients, including corporates, investors and asset managers.
“Digital assets are a foundational element of the evolution in financial services,” said Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered. “As client demand accelerates further, we want to offer clients a route to transact, trade and manage digital asset risk safely and efficiently within regulatory requirements.”
The trading platform integrates with Standard Chartered’s existing foreign exchange interfaces, allowing institutional clients to access cryptoassets through familiar systems. Clients can settle with their choice of custodian, including the bank’s proprietary digital assets custody solutions.
Tony Hall, Global Head of Trading and XVA at Standard Chartered, emphasized the bank’s competitive positioning. “We are applying our global expertise, infrastructure and risk management frameworks that our clients trust to the digital assets space,” Hall said. “With growing interest in regulated digital assets solutions, we are well positioned to meet client needs while capturing the opportunities in this space.”
Why It Matters: The launch comes amid heightened institutional interest in cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin traded at $119,233 as of Monday evening, up approximetly 11.68% in the third quarter. Ethereum gained 20% over the same period, trading at $2,986.
Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoffrey Kendrick, previously predicted Bitcoin would reach $135,000 in the third quarter and $200,000 in the fourth quarter, driven by exchange-traded fund inflows and corporate treasury demand.
ETFs purchased 120,000 BTC worth $12.4 billion in the second quarter, while corporate treasuries acquired 125,000 BTC.
The cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.74 trillion, with trading volume for Bitcoin surging 256% to $180 billion amid recent volatility.
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