Standard Chartered has announced it will enable institutional clients to directly trade bitcoin ( BTC) and ether ( ETH) through its United Kingdom (U.K.) branch, marking it as the first so-called global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to offer such direct cryptocurrency services.

According to a Reuters report, Standard Chartered confirmed on July 15 that institutional clients globally will gain access to spot crypto trading via its existing platforms. The bank also said it plans to introduce non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) trading in digital assets soon.

The baking services giant’s expansion comes as financial institutions report accelerating client demand for crypto products bolstered by bitcoin‘s recent record highs. The perceived pro-crypto stance from both U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress is increasingly compelling financial institutions to fundamentally reconsider their engagement with digital assets.

This marks a notable pivot from the previous Biden administration, under which financial institutions often faced regulatory uncertainty and implicit discouragement from developing or offering crypto-related services. The current political climate, signaling a potentially more favorable regulatory landscape, is now prompting these institutions to actively explore, and in some cases, rapidly expand their crypto offerings to meet burgeoning client demand and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.

Prior to the latest move, Standard Chartered was already providing digital asset services through its independent subsidiary companies, Zodia Markets and Zodia Custody. Zodia Markets, in particular, offers clients access to trading in more than 70 crypto assets.

“As client demand accelerates further, we want to offer clients a route to transact, trade, and manage digital asset risk safely and efficiently within regulatory requirements,” stated Bill Winters, Chief Executive of Standard Chartered.

Meanwhile, Standard Chartered’s decision also aligns with a nascent trend among other major financial players. Some U.S. banks, which previously shunned the sector, are reportedly holding internal discussions about expanding their crypto offerings. In June, France’s Societe Generale became the first major bank globally to launch a dollar-pegged stablecoin.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。