Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart), a multinational bank based in London, United Kingdom, is setting up a cryptocurrency trading desk to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
“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,” the bank said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.
The move makes StanChart one of the first global banks to introduce spot cryptocurrency trading.
Despite last month’s decreases in value for both Bitcoin and Ether, with the former seeing a 10.01% drop and the latter facing a 4.62% dip, both cryptocurrencies have soared over the past 12 months.
The two most prominent cryptocurrencies have especially been strengthened by the United States Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of several spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January and spot Ethereum ETFs in late May.
And as summer rolls around, things may only be looking up for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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“As we approach July, it is noteworthy that Bitcoin and Ethereum have shown substantial returns during this month over the past five years,” says Senior Cryptocurrency Analyst at Steno Research Mads Eberhardt.
“Specifically, Bitcoin has averaged a return of 10.49%, while Ethereum has averaged 19.20% in July. This trend might be positively influenced by the summer holiday season, during which retail investors have a greater impact on the market.”
