Standard Chartered Ventures Into Spot Crypto Trading

British multinational bank Standard Chartered is creating a Bitcoin and Ethereum trading desk in London, according to a recent report. If launched, Standard Chartered would become one of the first banks in the world to enter spot crypto trading.

Standard Chartered is preparing to launch a spot trading desk for buying and selling BTC and ETH in London, becoming one of the first banks in the world to enter spot crypto trading, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The new desk will be part of Standard Chartered’s Forex trading unit and will operate out of London. The offering will expand the multinational bank’s suite of crypto asset services, which already includes crypto custody and OTC trading.

“We have been 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 wider digital asset ecosystem, from access and custody to tokenization and interoperability,” the bank said in a statement.

Standard Chartered has a stake in institutional crypto custodian Zodia Custody and its exchange arm, Zodia Markets. Setting up its own spot crypto trading desk shows a clear intention to enter the cryptocurrency world.

The banking giant has been showing bullish interest in crypto in recent months. In May, Standard Chartered analysts said they expect Bitcoin and Ethereum to set new record highs after the SEC approves spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. The bank later predicted that Solana and XRP ETFs were next in line for SEC approval.

Community Praises Standard Chartered’s Crypto Move

Members of the crypto community celebrated Standard Chartered’s decision to launch its spot crypto trading desk. Binance CEO Richard Teng took to Twitter to welcome the British bank into the crypto space.

Welcome to crypto, Standard Chartered ?https://t.co/wtUtbu7Jno

One crypto community member, who goes by the online handle Crypto Shark, called the move “a significant step” for Standard Chartered and “a major endorsement” of crypto’s increasing mainstream acceptance. He believes that this could boost investor confidence and pave the way for wider adoption of BTC and ETH.

Another Twitter user shared the same sentiment, stating that Standard Chartered joining the lineup for spot crypto trading could lead to more mainstream acceptance.