LONDON, 12 January 2026 — Standard Chartered Plc is moving forward with plans to broaden its involvement in digital assets by preparing a crypto prime brokerage business within its wholly owned venture capital unit, SC Ventures, according to people familiar with the matter. The initiative marks a deepening commitment by the London-headquartered bank to offer institutional clients a wider suite of regulated crypto services at a time when traditional financial institutions are intensifying competition in the digital-asset space.
The discussions are at an early stage, and it remains unclear when the prime brokerage arm will launch or what specific products and services will be included, the sources said. However, the move follows a series of strategic moves by Standard Chartered to build out its digital asset infrastructure and capabilities for institutional investors.
Building Out Institutional Crypto Services
Standard Chartered’s interest in expanding its crypto footprint complements broader trends in traditional finance as banks seek to meet growing institutional demand for secure, regulated access to digital assets. In recent years, the bank has taken concrete steps toward this goal:
- It has been developing spot crypto trading capabilities, including plans for a trading desk for Bitcoin and Ethereum that would allow institutions to transact directly in the largest digital assets, a move first reported in mid-2024.
- It has expanded digital asset trading offerings, including regulated spot trading services for major cryptocurrencies geared toward institutional clients.
- Standard Chartered was appointed as digital asset custodian for major crypto ETP provider 21Shares, underlining its ambitions to provide institutional-grade custody infrastructure.
These groundwork initiatives provide a platform that could support a more comprehensive crypto prime brokerage, a full-service model traditionally offering execution, custody, financing, lending and clearing services to hedge funds, asset managers and other large investors.
Collaboration Across the Crypto Ecosystem
Standard Chartered has also expanded partnerships with established digital asset platforms. A broader collaboration with Coinbase aims to explore the development of institutional crypto services, including trading, custody, staking and lending, potentially laying the foundation for an integrated prime services ecosystem.
These partnerships reflect a strategy of combining the bank’s cross-border trading expertise and compliance frameworks with the market infrastructure and liquidity provided by established digital asset platforms, a combination seen as essential to scaling institutional crypto services in a compliant and secure manner.
Industry Dynamics And Strategic Positioning
The potential prime brokerage push positions Standard Chartered to compete with specialised crypto prime brokers, such as FalconX, which has established itself as a key institutional liquidity provider and prime services platform, as institutions seek professionalised, regulated access to digital assets.
Unlike retail-focused venues, prime brokerage services are tailored to institutional requirements, including risk-managed execution, credit facilitation, collateral management and clearing capability. Such infrastructure is critical for large investors and asset managers exploring digital assets alongside traditional portfolios.
Outlook
As crypto markets continue to mature and regulatory frameworks evolve, the expansion of regulated prime brokerage services by established financial institutions like Standard Chartered could play a pivotal role in bringing digital assets further into the mainstream of institutional finance.
The development also reflects the broader trend of traditional banks embracing digital asset ecosystems, moving beyond basic custody or payments support to offer deeper, more integrated trading and investment solutions, a space increasingly viewed as pivotal to the future of global capital markets.
