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Standard Chartered Plc is setting up a joint venture to buy and sell virtual currencies such as Bitcoin – days after its biggest rival HSBC Holdings Plc said it would distract from the crypto trading craze.
The London-based bank said on Wednesday that its tech arm, SC Ventures, will partner with BC Technology Group Ltd., a Hong Kong-based investment firm specializing in digital assets.
Alex Manson, Director of SC Ventures, said he is “strongly convinced that digital assets are here to stay and will be adopted by the institutional market as a very relevant asset class.”
“We are building the building blocks of a safe and reliable investment infrastructure,” Manson said.
The bank’s new partnership will be based in the UK and target the European market, helping institutional traders find counterparties. It will offer virtual currency exchanges, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, and will open in the fourth quarter.
In contrast, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said last week that his company would not offer virtual currencies to customers given its volatility.
Before he’s here, he’s on the Bloomberg terminal.
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