According to sources cited by Bloomberg, Standard Chartered Bank is setting up a trading desk for Bitcoin and Ether, making it one of the first international banks to introduce spot trading of cryptocurrencies.
Two insiders revealed that the new cryptocurrency trading desk is set to start operating and will be part of the bank’s foreign exchange trading division. According to one source, the division will be based in London.
While banks, including Goldman Sachs, have been trading cryptocurrency derivatives for years, strict regulatory requirements prevent them from directly trading the underlying assets. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has proposed that banks must apply a risk weight of 1250% to any unhedged exposure to cryptocurrencies, making it difficult for banks to generate profits.
In an email statement, Standard Chartered Bank stated:
