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.
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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.
[Read: This dude drove an EV from the Netherlands to New Zealand — here are his 3 top road trip tips]
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.
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