Banking giant Standard Chartered has introduced an amenity for the spot trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum via a fully integrated digital asset service, through its UK branch for institutional clients, including corporates, investors and asset managers.
Clients will be allowed to access and trade crypto assets via recognizable foreign exchange (FX) interfaces. Standard Chartered is also a registered crypto asset service provider with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, which possesses a sophisticated institutional-grade risk control function to assure clients that a robust risk management system is operational.
“We are applying our global expertise, infrastructure and risk management frameworks that our clients trust to the digital assets space,” said Tony Hall, Global Head of Trading and XVA, Markets, at Standard Chartered, during the bank’s announcement. “With growing interest in regulated digital assets solutions, we are well-positioned to meet client needs while capturing the opportunities in this space.”
Spot trading cryptocurrencies allows buyers and sellers to take possession of the respective asset and the funds nearly immediately or within a short timeframe.
The global market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has reached a milestone of just above $4 trillion, underscoring the cultural realignment of crypto assets in the global financial system, according to cryptocurrency data aggregator CoinGecko.
Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $120,851.91 per Bitcoin on July 18, driven by three major crypto bills that cleared the House on July 17: the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law the next day; the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act; and the Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency Surveillance State Act.
The pro-crypto Trump administration has spearheaded the perceptual change in the financial world surrounding crypto assets. With the establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the US Digital Asset Stockpile in March, the administration has made institutions reconsider their positions on digital assets.
The authors of the Corporates Investing in Crypto white paper, published by global consultancy Deloitte, conclude that firms began to significantly allocate portions of their treasury to digital assets five years ago, and they anticipate that strategic investments in digital assets are to become increasingly routine realities.