Bloomberg: Standard Chartered plans to establish a prime brokerage business focused on crypto trading

BlockBeats News, January 12, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter, Standard Chartered is planning to establish a prime brokerage business focused on cryptocurrency trading, indicating that global banks are ramping up efforts to compete in the digital asset space.

According to sources who requested anonymity, the London-based bank will set up the new business under its wholly owned venture capital arm, SC Ventures. Discussions are still at an early stage, and the specific launch date for the services has not yet been determined.

Standard Chartered has been one of the more active institutions in the global banking sector in the field of digital assets, having invested in several projects including crypto custody provider Zodia Custody and institutional trading platform Zodia Markets. In July last year, the bank announced it had become the first global systemically important bank to offer spot cryptocurrency trading services to institutional clients.

An SC Ventures spokesperson declined to comment. In December last year, SC Ventures posted on LinkedIn that it was developing a digital asset joint venture project called "Project37C," describing it as a "lightweight financing and market platform." The announcement stated that the joint venture would provide custody, tokenization, and market access services, but did not mention external partners or define it as a prime brokerage.