Standard Chartered Doubles Down: Spot Bitcoin & Ethereum Trading Goes Live
Breaking the institutional ice—again.
Standard Chartered just flipped the switch on spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum, becoming the latest banking giant to cave to crypto’s gravitational pull. No more dabbling in futures or hiding behind ETFs—this is direct exposure, raw and unfiltered.
Why now? The bank’s crypto division, SC Ventures, has been quietly building infrastructure since 2020. Five years of regulatory chess later, they’re all-in—just as Wall Street starts treating digital assets like a rebellious teen it finally understands.
The fine print: Custody handled by Zodia (their FSA-approved crypto arm), with liquidity from ‘select counterparties’ (read: the usual OTC whales). No retail access—this playground remains VIP-only.
One cynical footnote: Nothing unshackles tradition like the scent of fresh revenue streams. When 60% of your investment bank’s income relies on trading, even Satoshi’s ghost becomes a welcome business partner.
Institutions step up as crypto demand goes mainstream
From new service offerings to treasury reserve strategies, traditional financial heavyweights across the board are taking crypto more seriously, particularly as the assets solidify their position as worthy investment options with long-term viability.
Bitcoin recently broke into the top six global assets by market cap, reaching $2.3 trillion and overtaking the likes of Silver and Google. That surge has been powered in part by strong ETF inflows, driven by major asset managers like BlackRock and Fidelity, and a wave of corporate adoption.
Meanwhile, both Bitcoin and Ethereum posted strong performance last week, with BTC jumping 12% and ETH climbing 10%. Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $123,000, while Ethereum rallied past $3,000, bouncing back from months of underperformance.
While prices have since cooled to more modest ranges, the rally once again reinforced that BTC and ETH are no longer fringe assets, but rather formidable players in the global financial scene.
