Standard Chartered Jumps Into Crypto: Institutional Bitcoin & Ethereum Spot Trading Now Live
Wall Street’s crypto FOMO just got real. Standard Chartered—the $730 billion banking giant—flipped the switch on Bitcoin and Ethereum spot trading for institutional clients today. No more dipping toes in the water; this is a cannonball into the deep end.
Why the sudden move? Banks can’t ignore the $2.3 trillion crypto market forever—especially when clients demand exposure. The service pairs BTC and ETH with major fiat currencies, cutting out messy OTC desk middlemen. Finally, institutions get direct access without hopping through offshore exchanges.
But let’s be real: this isn’t altruism. With trading fees potentially generating nine figures annually, StanChart’s ‘cautious crypto embrace’ smells like revenue chasing. One banking exec even quipped, ‘We’re monetizing FOMO before the SEC does.’ Ouch.
The kicker? This rollout comes exactly 16 years after Bitcoin’s whitepaper dropped. Poetic timing—or just another bank realizing crypto isn’t going away? Either way, the institutional floodgates just creaked open wider.
Standard Chartered launches spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum
Multinational bank and financial services company Standard Chartered has launched spot trading services for Bitcoin and Ethereum aimed at institutional clients, the company stated in a press release on Monday.
The bank claims it is the first global bank to offer secure, regulated access to spot trading for both crypto assets. The products, which were launched through its UK subsidiary, are aimed at lowering the barrier to entry for institutional clients interested in crypto.
"Digital assets are a foundational element of the evolution in financial services. They're integral to enabling new pathways for innovation, greater inclusion and growth across the industry," said Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, in the press release.
Standard Chartered also plans to launch trading for crypto-based non-deliverable forwards (NDF) — a cash-settled currency contract where two parties exchange the difference between the agreed rate and the spot rate at maturity.
The company claims that the new products will be fully integrated into its existing platforms, enabling institutional clients to access and trade crypto assets on a familiar FX interface. Clients will also have the flexibility to settle trades with their preferred custodian, including the bank's digital asset custody offering.
"As client demand accelerates further, we want to offer clients a route to transact, trade and manage digital asset risk safely and efficiently within regulatory requirements," Winters added.
The MOVE aligns with Standard Chartered's crypto moves over the years. The bank has been offering crypto custody and trading services through its venture arms, Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, since 2020. It also provides digital asset tokenization services via Libeara.
Standard Chartered's announcement came as Bitcoin set a new all-time high of $123,091 on Monday, backed by increased institutional demand. Ethereum also rose to $3,000 as the altcoin market rallied alongside Bitcoin.
