The world’s first trading desk for Bitcoin and Ethereum is being opened by British bank Standard Chartered.
Highlights:
- Standard Chartered will be one of the to begin with multinational banks to offer spot bitcoin exchanging.
- Supports digital asset custodian Zodia Custody and its exchange subsidiary, Zodia Markets Bank.
As a result, once spot Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs receive US approval, it will be one of the first international entities to provide spot cryptocurrency trading. According to two sources who spoke to the outlet, Standard Chartered’s new cryptocurrency desk will soon join the forex trading business and begin trading.
According to the report, Standard Chartered said in an email that “we are 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 broader digital asset ecosystem, from access and custody to tokenisation and interoperability.”
However, Standard Chartered did not reply to Decrypt’s request for further information.
The bank has backed institutional digital asset trading company Zodia Markets and co-owns institutional custodian Zodia Custody. Having gained its foothold through investments, the company is apparently aiming to delve deeper into the digital asset world by setting up its own spot crypto trading desk.
Other banks have previously traded cryptocurrency, but due to regulations, they have had to trade derivatives rather than the actual asset itself. For example, Goldman Sachs began trading bitcoin futures in 2020 and launched a bitcoin derivatives trading desk in 2021.
In 2022, the Basel Committee—the global standard-setting body for banks—recommended that institutions use a 1,250% risk weighting when transacting in cryptocurrency assets. The term describes the minimum amount of capital a bank needs to set aside to cover investment risk. According to industry analysts, this exceptionally high weighting makes it difficult for banks to make money on cryptocurrency trading.
Recently, Standard Chartered has been optimistic about cryptocurrencies. After the Ethereum ETF was legalized in the United States, it was predicted in May that both Bitcoin and Ethereum would reach all-time highs. The bank predicted that the next ETFs to be allowed in the US would be Solana and XRP.
“This is very much a 2025 story, rather than a 2024 story,” said Jeffrey Kendrick, head of crypto research and developing markets for foreign currencies at Standard Chartered.
