Standard Chartered: First Bank to Offer Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading

Global banking giant Standard Chartered is making a significant move into the crypto space by announcing plans to open a trading desk for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum. This makes them the first bank to offer direct Bitcoin and Ethereum trading, signifying a major step towards mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. The trading desk will be part of the bank's FX trading unit and will be operational from London. The move was met with positive reactions from crypto industry leaders, including Binance CEO Richard Ten, who sees it as a sign of growing mainstream crypto acceptance. Standard Chartered already offers crypto-related solutions through its subsidiaries Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, which provide services like crypto custody and institutional crypto trading. The announcement led to a slight upward movement in both Bitcoin and Ethereum prices, suggesting traders are optimistic about the implications of this development.