Standard Chartered, BC Group form joint venture to offer cryptocurrency trading in Europe
- Standard Chartered’s venture unit will offer bitcoin trading to clients in Europe via a joint venture with Hong Kong-listed BC Group
- Move comes as high-street banks increasingly venture into a market now worth over US$1 trillion globally
Standard Chartered has partnered with Hong Kong-based digital asset firm BC Group to set up a UK joint venture that will offer brokerage and exchange trading services for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as high-street banks increasingly make a foray into the space.
“We have a strong conviction that digital assets are here to stay and will be adopted by the institutional market as a highly relevant asset class,” said Alex Manson, head of SC Ventures.
The market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies has now exceeded US$1 trillion, data from CoinMarketCap shows, which is double that of the biggest American bank, JPMorgan Chase. While bitcoin has lost 38 per cent of its value in the past month, it has still more than tripled over the past year, at one point peaking at more than US$64,000.
The new joint venture will be headed by Usman Ahmad, BC Group’s chief information officer, while Nick Philpott, a member of SC Ventures, will be the chief operating officer.
The new company will offer trading services for bitcoin, ethereum, and other digital assets targeting the European market.
It will leverage OSL’s digital asset technology, and Standard Chartered’s access to the European markets, according to the press release.
“The partnership fits with our geographical expansion and growth strategy as it allows OSL to rapidly enter the European market with a leading partner,” said Wayne Trench, chief executive of OSL.
SC Ventures was established in 2018 to lead innovation across the Standard Chartered group. It invests in financial technology (fintech) companies, and promotes the testing and implementation of new business models.
