Standard Chartered to Launch Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading Desk in London
British banking titan, Standard Chartered, is set to roll out a new Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading desk based in London. This move ventures the financial services giant into the world of spot market crypto trading.
Details from Bloomberg Report
According to a new report by Bloomberg, anonymous sources familiar with the matter reveal that the bank's new trading desk is nearing its launch. Though no specific date was mentioned, it will be integrated into the bank’s foreign exchange trading service. Standard Chartered stated to Bloomberg:
“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.”
Past Ventures and Future Projections
Last year, Standard Chartered launched Libeara, a blockchain platform aimed at assisting firms with real-world asset tokenization. Earlier this year, analysts at the bank made headlines by raising their price prediction for Bitcoin in 2025 by 50%, owing to the success of spot market Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) greenlit by regulators in January.
Bitcoin Price Prediction
At the time, analyst Geoff Kendrick indicated to investors that the bank is raising its 2025 price target for Bitcoin from $100,000 to $150,000. As of the latest data, Bitcoin is trading for $64,132, seeing a 1.55% decrease over the last 24 hours.
This move by Standard Chartered into cryptocurrency trading signifies a growing interest and trust by traditional financial institutions in the digital asset marketplace.
