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An historic first
On Tuesday, Standard Chartered became the first globally systemic bank (G-SIB) to offer spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading to institutional clients. Offered through its UK branch, the service will be available globally.
Long time in the making
In a statement to Blockstories, Standard Chartered said the offering has been in development for over three years. The decision to go live now reflects what the bank describes as “growing institutional client demand for digital assets.”
- “I’ve often emphasized the need to strike a balance between innovation and risk management. Today’s announcement marks an important step toward building a reliable, secure, and efficient environment for institutional clients to engage with digital asset markets,” said Bill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered.
Embedded, not separate
The new offering is fully integrated into Standard Chartered’s existing platforms, providing a seamless end-to-end service with built-in flexibility for institutional clients.
- Familiar interface: Clients access crypto spot trading via the same interface they already use for FX.
- Custody by choice: Settlement is also flexible. Clients can choose to have their trades settled via Standard Chartered’s institutional-grade custody solution or through a qualified third-party custodian of their preference.
More products on the way
While the rollout begins with the two largest cryptoassets, Standard Chartered confirmed that additional products are on the way. Among them are crypto-linked non-deliverable forwards (NDFs), which are expected to launch in the coming months.
A growing digital asset footprint
The launch builds on a broader portfolio of digital asset initiatives. Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, two ventures backed by Standard Chartered, are already live and focus on institutional-grade custody and trading. Libeara, another venture, supports tokenization and digital asset issuance. Meanwhile, the bank is in the process of securing a MiCA license through its Luxembourg-based subsidiary, further strengthening its position in the European market.
L'avis de Blockstories
Standard Chartered’s move into BTC and ETH trading for institutional clients is a major signal to the rest of the market. Every bank watches its peers closely, and those already exploring crypto will now feel pressure to move faster, while those still on the sidelines risk falling behind. Some financial institutions may be ahead of the curve, but we’re currently seeing various European banks entering the mid-to-late stages of developing similar offerings. The early-mover window is closing.
What’s driving it? Partly revenue: trading and custody fees are becoming meaningful. But just as important is client retention. Banks are under pressure to prevent capital from flowing to crypto-native platforms. Institutions such as hedge funds, corporates and pension funds are asking their long-standing partners for access to Bitcoin. And if those partners are not considering to provide it in the near future, they may consider alternative options.
Asset-wise, most financial institutions get started with BTC and ETH trading and custody. These are the assets where demand is strongest, and liquidity is most readily available. Most banks start small to get familiar with the mechanics before gradually expanding.
Blockstories, la plateforme de référence pour les institutionnels concernant les cryptoactifs.
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