Bloomberg Standard Chartered to Establish Spot Trading Platform for Bitcoin and Ethereum

Standard Chartered Bank is reportedly setting up a trading desk for Bitcoin and Ether, making it one of the first international banks to introduce spot trading of cryptocurrencies. According to sources familiar with the matter, the new cryptocurrency trading desk will be part of the bank’s foreign exchange division and will operate in London. While banks, including Goldman Sachs, have been trading cryptocurrency derivatives for years, strict regulatory requirements have prevented them from directly trading the underlying assets. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has proposed that banks must assign a risk weight of 1250% to any unhedged cryptocurrency exposure, making it difficult for banks to generate profits. In an email statement, Standard Chartered Bank stated: [content of the statement].