• Standard Chartered would become one of the first global banks to enter spot cryptocurrency trading.
• The bank is a backer of digital asset custodian Zodia Custody and its exchange arm Zodia Markets.

Standard Chartered (STAN) is establishing a spot trading desk for buying and selling bitcoin and ether, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

The new London-based desk will start operations soon and be part of the bank's FX trading unit, the report, citing people familiar with the matter.

Standard Chartered would become one of the first global banks to enter spot cryptocurrency trading, though others have been trading crypto derivatives for several years.

“We have been working closely with our regulators to support demand from our institutional clients to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum, in line with our strategy to support clients across the wider digital asset ecosystem, from access and custody to tokenization and interoperability,” Standard Chartered said in an emailed statement, according to the report.

The banking giant's involvement in cryptocurrency is now well established, as a backer of digital asset custodian Zodia Custody and its exchange arm Zodia Markets.

Standard Chartered did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for further comment.

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