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Another major bank has joined the growing list of financial institutions worldwide that have started to offer crypto-related services to their clients. Standard Chartered will launch a crypto exchange and brokerage platform that would allow its clients access to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other digital currencies.
Standard Chartered PLC announced on Wednesday that its innovation arm, SC Ventures, will set up a cryptocurrency brokerage platform in Britain, according to Reuters. The new service will target the bank’s institutional clients.
The new crypto exchange and brokerage will be a joint venture between BC Technology Group and SC Ventures. BC Technology group operates the crypto exchange OSL, the first exchanges licensed by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, according to Bitcoin.com.
The bank expects increasing institutional adoption of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other digital currencies. The bank’s move to establish the crypto exchange to meet the increasing demand for services related to this new asset class.
“We have a strong conviction that digital assets are here to stay and will be adopted by the institutional market as a highly relevant asset class,” SC Ventures head Alex Manson said. “We are constructing the building blocks for a safe and reliable investment infrastructure.”
The bank’s new crypto exchange and brokerage platform will target the European market and will be based in the U.K. Standard Chartered aims to connect institutional clients with counterparties trading bitcoin, ether, and other digital assets. The bank added that it plans to launch the new service in the fourth quarter this year.
While Standard Chartered is embracing crypto, HSBC recently said that it has no plans in offering crypto-related services to its clients. Europe’s largest bank cited the volatility of the prices of cryptocurrencies as the reason why it won’t be following the footsteps of its rivals.
“Given the volatility, we are not into Bitcoin as an asset class, if our clients want to be there then of course they are, but we are not promoting it as an asset class within our wealth management business,” HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said last week.
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