Standard Chartered is preparing to build a crypto prime brokerage. The institution is positioning itself as the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to offer institutional clients a comprehensive service package for digital assets.
The British major bank plans to house the business under its venture capital unit SC Ventures. Their prime brokerage will encompass custody, financing, trading, and clearing for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets. The target audience includes hedge funds, family offices, asset managers, and corporations. Retail clients will not have access to these institutional services. The project remains in an early planning phase. No concrete launch date has been set.
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Structure bypasses strict capital requirements
The decision to locate the prime brokerage outside the regulated core bank follows regulatory logic. Under current Basel III rules, banks must apply a risk weighting of 1,250 percent for direct Bitcoin holdings. This means: For every million dollars in cryptocurrencies, a bank must hold one million dollars in equity capital. This requirement makes directly holding crypto assets economically unattractive for banks.
Venture capital investments are subject to a risk weighting of approximately 400 percent. The structure under SC Ventures therefore significantly reduces the capital burden. Standard Chartered avoids the prohibitive costs that direct accounting of crypto assets would entail. At the same time, the bank retains full control over the business, as SC Ventures is a wholly-owned subsidiary.
The project carries the internal name "Project37C." A LinkedIn post from SC Ventures in December described the venture as a "lightweight financing and market platform." The platform will combine custody, tokenization, and market access. A prime brokerage differs from pure custody: It additionally encompasses margin financing, securities lending, and consolidated reporting.
Expansion of existing digital asset activities
Standard Chartered has already completed significant groundwork in the digital assets space. In July 2025, the bank launched a spot trading service for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The offering targets institutional clients and enables trading of BTC/USD and ETH/USD pairs through the UK branch. Standard Chartered became the first global systemically important bank to offer deliverable crypto spot trades.
The service integrates digital assets into existing treasury infrastructure. Fund managers use the same platform through which they trade dollars, euros, or yen. Clients can also settle their crypto trades with any custodian of their choice. The bank is also planning to introduce non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) for cryptocurrencies.
"Digital assets are a fundamental element in the evolution of financial services. They enable new avenues for innovation, greater inclusion, and growth across the industry." - Bill Winters, Group CEO Standard Chartered
In December 2025, Standard Chartered deepened its partnership with Coinbase. Both companies are jointly developing solutions for trading, prime services, custody, staking, and lending. The collaboration builds on an existing cooperation in Singapore. There, Standard Chartered already enables real-time SGD transfers for Coinbase customers. Standard Chartered also entered into a strategic partnership with crypto prime broker FalconX. FalconX gains access to Standard Chartered's banking infrastructure. This enables the crypto broker to offer its institutional clients a broader range of currency pairs and faster cross-border settlements.
Broad ecosystem of investments
SC Ventures manages an extensive portfolio of digital asset investments. The bank holds stakes in Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets. These subsidiaries provide crypto custody and over-the-counter trading. In 2023, SC Ventures founded a joint venture with Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings in the United Arab Emirates. The joint company Global Digital Asset Holdings has capital of 100 million dollars. The focus lies on investments in market infrastructure, compliance tools, DeFi, tokenization, and payments.
Strategic investments of the joint venture include Twinstake, HiddenRoad, and WalletConnect. These holdings underscore the focus on regulated digital asset innovation. In April 2025, Standard Chartered also established a securities program together with OKX and Franklin Templeton in Asia. The program creates connections between traditional financial instruments and the digital asset ecosystem.
Competitive landscape intensifies
Standard Chartered operates in an increasingly competitive environment. US major banks are expanding their activities in the crypto space. JPMorgan is examining the establishment of its own crypto trading desk. Morgan Stanley recently filed ETF applications. Multiple global systemically important banks are entering the institutional crypto market simultaneously.
Institutional investor demand for digital assets continues to grow steadily. US spot crypto ETFs now manage approximately 140 billion dollars. The funds have accumulated this sum since their approval two years ago. ETF inflows signal sustained interest from large asset managers in the asset class.
The regulatory framework continues to develop in parallel. The British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will begin accepting applications for crypto services from September 2026. More comprehensive oversight is set to begin in October 2027. Standard Chartered is positioning itself accordingly before the new regulatory framework takes effect.
Outlook for the institutional market
Standard Chartered's initiative marks a strategic step in the institutional crypto market. The prime brokerage model under SC Ventures could serve as a blueprint for other major banks. These institutions face similar regulatory hurdles when entering the digital asset space.
The combination of spot trading, custody, financing, and clearing in one platform addresses fragmented infrastructure. Hedge funds and asset managers currently often require multiple service providers for different functions. An integrated offering from a global systemically important bank could reduce this complexity.
The Coinbase partnership suggests a division of labor: Standard Chartered brings global banking reach, custody infrastructure, and foreign exchange expertise. Coinbase contributes one of the most mature institutional crypto platforms. This combination could give rise to a comprehensive ecosystem for institutional investors.
