Standard Chartered prepares crypto prime brokerage push: Bloomberg

Standard Chartered is reportedly preparing to launch a prime brokerage service for cryptocurrency trading, housing the operation within its SC Ventures unit, according to Bloomberg citing anonymous sources.

This structural decision places the new business outside the bank's core regulated entity, potentially allowing Standard Chartered to avoid stringent capital requirements applied to direct bank holdings of digital assets under Basel III rules, which impose a 1,250% risk weight on exposures like Bitcoin.

The move follows a previous announcement by SC Ventures regarding "Project37C," a digital-asset joint venture focused on custody, tokenization, and market access. This development occurs as major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon, Barclays, and HSBC, are accelerating their digital asset activities amid a perceived more permissive U.S. policy environment.

(Source：The Block)