Standard Chartered Makes History: First Global Bank to Offer Bitcoin & Ethereum Spot Trading
Wall Street's old guard just got a crypto wake-up call.
Standard Chartered—the 160-year-old banking titan—just bulldozed into the digital asset arena with live Bitcoin and Ethereum trading. No futures, no ETFs. Raw crypto, delivered straight to institutional clients.
The irony? A bank built on colonial-era tea trades now facilitating borderless, decentralized finance. (Somewhere, a Goldman Sachs VP is stress-drinking a $28 cold brew.)
This isn't dipping toes in—it's a cannonball into the deep end. The move signals what insiders have whispered for years: banks can't afford to ignore crypto's $2T+ market cap anymore.
Expect rivals to scramble. And watch those trading desks—nothing fuels adoption like the scent of fresh commissions.
New crypto offering tailored for institutions
The bank’s new trading solution is fully integrated into its existing FX infrastructure, enabling institutional clients to access digital assets through familiar interfaces. Clients can execute trades and choose between Standard Chartered’s in-house custody platform or an external provider for asset storage. The offering currently operates during Asia and Europe trading hours, with 24/5 availability under consideration as demand grows.
“We define institutional clients as financial institutions such as asset managers and investors, and large multinational companies who are clients of our corporate and investment banking division,” said Rene Michau, the bank’s global head of digital assets.
READ MORE:Plans for expansion beyond BTC and ETH
While the current service is limited to spot BTC and ETH trading, Standard Chartered plans to roll out additional products, including non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) and broader crypto trading services. The move reflects the growing institutional appetite for digital assets and positions the bank as a leader among traditional financial institutions entering the crypto market.