Standard Chartered is hopping on the crypto trading bandwagon.
The British banking giant today announced that its innovation unit, SC Ventures, will launch a digital asset brokerage and exchange platform for institutional clients in Europe.
StanChart is establishing the venture alongside BC Technology Group, the parent company of Hong Kong-licensed digital-asset platform OSL.
The partnership will be based in the UK and offer trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets.
Alex Mason, the head of SC Ventures, said the platform will enable safe adoption and trading by the world’s largest investors:
We have a strong conviction that digital assets are here to stay and will be adopted by the institutional market as a highly relevant asset class.
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The project brings another financial giant into the crypto trading fray.
Mira Christanto, an analyst at data provider Messari, tweeted that the move “will catapult crypto adoption by 10 years.”
✅Standard Chartered join the ranks of banks coming to #Bitcoin. Forming a platform with crypto-native exchange OSL.
This will catapult crypto adoption by 10 years.✅ DBS
✅ Goldman Sachs
✅ Morgan Stanley
✅ Wells Fargo
✅ JPM
✅ Citi#LFG 🚀 https://t.co/zte3koFGH1— Mira Christanto (@asiahodl) June 2, 2021
However, not every major financial institution shares StanChart’s faith in digital assets. The bank’s arch-rival, HSBC, revealed last week that it’s got no plans to launch a crypto trading desk or offer clients virtual currencies due to the market’s volatility.