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Tanzeel Akhtar
Journalist
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Standard Chartered is preparing to deepen its push into digital assets by setting up a crypto prime brokerage, according to people familiar with the matter, as major global banks accelerate efforts to compete for institutional crypto flows, reports Bloomberg.
The London-based lender plans to house the new business within SC Ventures, its wholly owned venture capital arm, rather than inside its core corporate and investment bank.
Discussions remain at an early stage, and the timing of any launch has yet to be determined, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the plans are not public.
Strategic Fit Within SC Ventures
Standard Chartered has emerged as one of the most active global banks in digital assets, backing infrastructure plays such as crypto custodian Zodia Custody and institutional trading venue Zodia Markets.
Back in July, Standard Chartered said it became the first global systemically important bank to offer spot crypto trading to institutional clients. SC Ventures has also indicated broader ambitions in the space.
In December, the unit said it was developing a digital-asset joint venture known as Project37C, described as a “light financing and markets platform” offering custody, tokenisation, and market access. While the announcement did not label the initiative a prime brokerage, it showed overlapping capabilities.
Banks Move Deeper Into Digital Assets
The move comes as regulators globally continue discussions on revisiting crypto capital rules, while banks press ahead regardless.
In the U.S., JPMorgan Chase & Co. has been weighing crypto trading for institutional clients, while Morgan Stanley recently filed to introduce Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana exchange-traded funds, placing it in competition with asset managers such as BlackRock Inc. and ARK Investment Management.
U.S. spot crypto ETFs now oversee roughly $140 billion in assets, reflecting rising institutional participation. Prime brokerages—which provide financing, securities lending, execution, and custody—are increasingly seen as key infrastructure for crypto’s next phase of growth.
In April, Ripple acquired Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, while crypto prime broker FalconX agreed in October to acquire 21Shares. As institutional capital flows deepen, Standard Chartered’s move indicates that global banks intend to compete across the full crypto market stack—not just at the edges.
Standard Chartered and AirAsia Parent Explore Ringgit-Backed Stablecoin
Standard Chartered, Bank Malaysia, and Capital A, the parent company of AirAsia, have also taken a major step into the country’s digital asset environment with plans to explore a ringgit-pegged stablecoin.
The two companies signed a letter of intent on Friday to work on the initiative under Malaysia’s Digital Asset Innovation Hub, a regulatory framework launched by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in June to encourage experimentation in tokenization and blockchain-based finance.