Standard Chartered Rolls Out Spot Bitcoin, Ethereum Trading Service For Institutional Clients

Key Points

1. Standard Chartered introduced spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading for institutional clients via its UK entity, initially available during Asia and European trading hours.

2. The bank described this as the 'first global systematically important deliverable spot trading' service in a July 15 press release.

3. The offering is integrated with Standard Chartered’s existing infrastructure and proprietary custody solution.

4. Standard Chartered has invested in crypto-related companies like Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets and launched a blockchain unit called Libeara in 2023.

5. Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research, forecasted BTC reaching $135,000 by Q3 2024 and $200,000 by year-end, citing growing ETF inflows.