Standard Chartered, a major global bank, is now offering its large institutional customers the ability to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum. This move was announced in a recent company statement.
The prominent UK-based financial institution distinguishes itself by being the first significant, globally recognized bank to provide regulated spot trading of cryptocurrencies with actual, physical settlement.
Through Standard Chartered’s UK branch, corporate clients, investment firms, and professional asset managers can now engage in XBT/USD and ETH/USD trading pairs using the bank’s established foreign exchange trading platform.
According to Bill Winters, Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, “The demand for regulated solutions within the digital asset space is increasing, and we are prepared to equip our clients with the necessary resources.”
For secure transaction completion, clients can choose between utilizing external, independent digital asset custody services, or Standard Chartered’s own dedicated custody solution, Zodia Custody, which was initially launched in 2020. The bank also intends to soon facilitate the settlement of non-deliverable forward (NDF) contracts related to these digital assets.
Interestingly, there’s a clear difference in crypto investment preferences between institutional and individual investors. Data from The Block, citing Wintermute experts, indicates that major institutional players are significantly increasing their allocations to Bitcoin and Ethereum. These top two cryptocurrencies now represent roughly 70% of institutional crypto portfolios. In contrast, these same cryptocurrencies account for only around 37% of the crypto investments held by retail investors.
“This isn’t just a passing fad, but rather a sign of growing maturity in the market. Institutional investors are beginning to view cryptoassets as broader macroeconomic assets, while retail investors are still primarily focused on finding high-return, albeit higher-risk, investment opportunities,” stated Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute.
Newer, trending meme coins such as BONK, WIF, and POPCAT are exceptionally popular among retail investors. Meanwhile, more established meme coins like DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE continue to dominate the GMCI MEME index.
Currently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reviewing several applications for spot Dogecoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Wintermute’s analysts believe that a favorable decision from the SEC regarding these applications could potentially trigger even greater retail demand for meme coins in general.