Key Takeaways
Standard Chartered has unveiled spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum for its institutional clients. The growing institutional support could further cement crypto as a legitimate asset class.
Standard Chartered has become the first global tier-1 banking giant to unveil Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] spot trading for its institutional clients.
In a statement, the firm said that the trading will happen within its forex trading platform.
“The trading offering is fully integrated with Standard Chartered’s existing platforms, allowing institutional clients to access and trade cryptoassets through familiar FX interfaces.”
The firm added that the move makes it the “first global systemically important bank” to offer a wide range of crypto-asset trading support for corporates, investors, and asset managers.
It would also add derivatives for the crypto assets soon enough, allowing traders to speculate and hedge against price action without directly owning the underlying asset.
Standard Chartered doubles down on crypto
The bank already has crypto offerings via subsidiaries Zodia Markets and Zodia Custody. In fact, Zodia Markets allows users to trade over 70 crypto assets. Bill Winters, Chief Executive, praised the new offerings as “enabling new pathways for innovation” and great inclusion. He added,
“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.”
Crypto markets have seen incredible integration with the traditional financial (TradFi) since early 2024.
In January 2024, the U.S approved the first spot BTC ETFs (exchange-traded funds), further entrenching the sector into the mainstream. In July, the United States approved spot ETH ETFs, with the country now expected to greenlight several altcoin ETFs and staking in 2025.
In response, other jurisdictions like Hong Kong followed suit, with the likes of the U.K attempting to offer a clear regulatory framework and similar products.
Since Spot BTC ETFs’ approval, the products now control $150 billion in net assets, with the overall crypto market doubling too. In fact, the market size has surged from $1.6 trillion to $3.7 trillion, just an inch away from $4 trillion.
About half of the market is in BTC ($2.36 trillion), underscoring it as a key interest among retail and institutional investors.
Source: CoinMarketCap
That being said, Standard Chartered’s move could tip other rivals like Citi, Goldman Sachs, and HSBC. In fact, some wirehouses like JP Morgan now support BTC ETFs and as loan collateral.
Such growing institutional adoption could further support crypto as a legitimate asset class.
