Standard Chartered has made history as the first global systemically important bank to provide digital asset spot trading services for institutional clients.
This new offering includes spot trading for Bitcoin (XBT/USD) and Ether (XET/USD) through the bank’s UK branch, with plans to introduce non-deliverable forwards trading in the near future. The trading platform is seamlessly integrated with Standard Chartered’s existing systems, enabling institutional clients to access and trade cryptocurrencies via familiar foreign exchange interfaces. Clients have the flexibility to settle transactions with their preferred custodians, including Standard Chartered’s own custody services.
Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, remarked, “As client demand accelerates, we aim to provide secure and efficient avenues for clients to transact, trade, and manage digital asset risks while adhering to regulatory standards.”
Standard Chartered has shown a strong commitment to the digital asset landscape, recently entering into a collaboration with crypto exchange OKX to launch a collateral mirroring program. This initiative allows institutional clients to leverage cryptocurrencies and tokenized money market funds as off-exchange collateral for trading.
Earlier this year, Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s head of digital assets, predicted that Bitcoin could potentially reach a value of $500,000 within the next three years.