- The Standard Chartered Bank has shown interest in adoption of cryptocurrency.
- Recently, several global banks have begun adopting CBDCs.
The crypto market witnessed a major milestone as the leading banking institution, the Standard Chartered Bank, announced the launch of a trading desk for spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Two insiders have confirmed that the trading desk will operate from London, as reported by Bloomberg
Spot cryptocurrencies including BTC and ETH, are the first to enter centralized banks. According to sources, this trading desk is expected to be part of the bank’s FX trading unit.
Moreover, this incident is important as the crypto sector is moving toward the mainstream financial markets. While other banks have previously dealt with crypto derivatives, this is the debut for spot Bitcoin and Ether.
In an email statement, the Standard Chartered Bank said:
“We have been working closely with our regulators to support demand from our institutional clients to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum, in line with our strategy to support clients across the wider digital asset ecosystem, from access and custody to tokenization and interoperability.”
While an official announcement is still pending from the Standard Chartered Bank, the source comes from people familiar with the incident. Additionally, the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has also worked with and traded crypto derivatives but not any underlying assets directly.
Banks face increasing difficulty in dealing with digital assets due to uncertainty surrounding their regulations. Incidentally, one regulator, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) has proposed banks apply a 1250% risk weighting to any unhedged crypto exposure.
How are Global Banks Adopting Crypto?
The scrutiny and criticisms have increasingly swarmed into the crypto markets in the past month. Global banks have been the central focus as the community and regulators watched their stance toward cryptocurrency.
Notably, the Standard Chartered Bank has shown interest in adopting cryptocurrencies into its operations. As per sources, the Bank holds stakes in two crypto firms, Zodio Custody, and Zodio Markets.
Furthermore, many global banks are adopting Central bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and many are already working on its development. On the other hand, certain countries like Singapore have tightened security in their banking systems following crypto-related scams.
Meanwhile, the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) issuers currently manage $56.41 billion worth of BTC. This market has witnessed notable outflows for the fifth consecutive day, according to Sosovalue data.
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