SC Ventures, the innovation and ventures unit of Standard Chartered, and BC Technology Group (BC Group), an Asian digital asset company and parent of Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-licensed digital asset platform OSL, announced they have partnered to establish a digital asset brokerage and exchange platform for institutional and corporate clients in the UK and Europe.
The joint venture will be underpinned by BC Group’s leading OSL digital asset technology and Standard Chartered’s global network and experience in brokerage and providing access to European markets.
Based in the UK, and initially targeting the European market, the company will connect institutional traders to counterparties across markets, delivering access to deep pools of liquidity in bitcoin, ether and other digital assets. The JV aims to launch in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Alex Manson, who heads SC Ventures, said in a statement: “We have a strong conviction that digital assets are here to stay and will be adopted by the institutional market as a highly relevant asset class. We are constructing the building blocks for a safe and reliable investment infrastructure: on the back of Zodia Custody, which will ensure safe and compliant custody for institutional investors, the new company will provide a brokerage and exchange platform to enable safe adoption and trading by the world’s largest and most demanding investors.”
Usman Ahmad, incoming CEO of the new JV, said in a statement: “The JV will aid in maturing the digital asset ecosystem by combining OSL’s expertise in regulatory compliant, secure institutional digital asset trading with SC Ventures’ proven capability to develop future technology capabilities in banking and finance.”
Digital asset trading has expanded significantly since 2017, with a total market capitalization greater than $1 trillion in early June 2021. The total value of trading volume on major digital-asset exchanges averages over $4 billion per day. This growth has drawn the attention of institutional customers, many of whom are now looking to access the asset class for the first time.