Bloomberg: Standard Chartered Is Said to Mull Creating Crypto Trading Unit

BlockBeats News, January 12th, according to Bloomberg, Standard Chartered Bank is planning to establish a cryptocurrency trading-focused prime brokerage business, demonstrating that global banks are increasing their efforts to enter the digital asset competition.

According to anonymous sources, the London-based bank will house the new business within its wholly-owned venture capital arm, SC Ventures. Discussions are still in the early stages, and the specific launch timeline is not yet clear.

Standard Chartered Bank has been one of the more active institutions in the global banking industry in the digital asset field, having invested in multiple projects, including the crypto custody firm Zodia Custody and the institutional trading platform Zodia Markets. In July last year, the bank announced that it had become the first global systemically important bank to offer spot cryptocurrency trading to institutional clients.

An SC Ventures spokesperson declined to comment on this. In December last year, SC Ventures posted on LinkedIn that it was developing a digital asset joint venture project called "Project37C," describing it as a "lightweight financing and market platform." The announcement stated that the joint venture company would provide custody, tokenization, and market access services but did not mention any external partners or define it as a prime brokerage.