Standard Chartered Becomes First Global Bank to Launch Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading

What’s Happening?

In a historic milestone for institutional crypto adoption, Standard Chartered has officially become the first global systemically important bank to offer spot trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

The service is live now via the bank’s UK division, targeting institutional clients such as asset managers, multinational firms, and corporate investors.

Why This Matters for Institutional Finance

Strategic Expansion into Digital Assets

This spot trading service is part of a larger roadmap, including:

• Zodia Custody – A regulated crypto custody platform backed by SC Ventures

• Zodia Markets – An institutional crypto trading venue

• Libeara Tokenization Platform – Designed to bridge tokenized real-world assets with TradFi infrastructure

Standard Chartered is positioning itself as a bridge between traditional finance and Web3, establishing a first-mover advantage among global banks.

What It Means for the Market

• Institutional Confidence Boost: This signals growing trust in crypto markets from Tier-1 banks

• Onboarding Wave Incoming? More banks could follow, offering regulated crypto trading solutions

• TradFi–DeFi Fusion: Services like these could accelerate mass adoption by blending old and new finance rails

Coinccino Final Take

Standard Chartered's move from custodian to active spot trading provider for BTC and ETH marks a pivotal shift in institutional engagement. It demonstrates that crypto is no longer fringe—it’s becoming integrated into global capital markets.

With regulatory clarity improving and institutional infrastructure maturing, this could spark the next wave of professional capital inflows.