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Standard Chartered has begun allowing institutional clients to directly trade bitcoin and ether, becoming the first major bank to enable spot cryptocurrency transactions.
The London-based lender said it had launched bitcoin/dollar and ether/dollar trading from Tuesday for institutional clients such as corporates, asset managers and investors, and would soon add so-called non-deliverable forwards — contracts in which no physical settlement of the currencies takes place.
The move highlights how crypto is becoming increasingly entwined with mainstream finance, and comes as more traditional companies seek to compete with specialist crypto exchanges, where the majority of trading takes place at present.
Banks have sought to capitalise on the renewed popularity of cryptocurrencies, which have soared since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. However, until now, no major lender has offered trading services directly to clients.
“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,” said Bill Winters, the bank’s chief executive.
Trump has embraced the crypto industry, helping push the price of bitcoin to a record high of almost $123,000 this week.
Under his administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission has significantly reduced enforcement action against crypto companies, dropped lawsuits and encouraged digital asset legislation to be pushed ahead. This week, US lawmakers are considering three bills that, if passed, would bring crypto more in line with traditional finance and could embolden more mainstream players to launch crypto services.
Some banks have given clients access to funds that invest directly in bitcoin and ether and which were approved by the regulator last year, but most have remained cautious about offering spot crypto trading directly. In May, the Financial Times reported that Morgan Stanley was considering allowing crypto trading through its retail trading arm, ETrade.
StanChart said Tuesday’s move would give clients the reassurance of dealing with a regulated bank and help remove some of the barriers faced by institutions wanting to trade in the space. Crypto trading would take place through the same platforms its clients use for currency trading, it added, while clients could choose which custodian to settle their trades at.
In 2020, the British bank backed crypto trading and custody business Zodia through its ventures arm.
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