How Traditional Banks Are Making Crypto News With Prime Brokerage Expansion

The global financial sector is witnessing a significant pivot toward cryptocurrency infrastructure, with major institutions racing to build out digital asset services for their institutional clients. Standard Chartered, a $389 billion asset manager, is advancing into this space by structuring a new crypto prime brokerage through its innovation arm, SC Ventures. This development reflects a broader trend reshaping the institutional crypto landscape.

Institutional Demand Drives the Crypto Infrastructure Race

The appetite for advanced crypto services among large financial institutions has reached a tipping point. Traditional banks are recognizing that institutional investors need comprehensive digital asset platforms comparable to conventional financial infrastructure. Prime brokerages—which historically provided lending, settlement, and trading services in traditional markets—are now emerging as critical infrastructure for institutional crypto participation. Standard Chartered’s move signals that even conservative global banks see crypto access as essential for serving their core clients.

Standard Chartered’s Strategic Architecture: Operating Through SC Ventures

Standard Chartered is preparing to establish a crypto prime brokerage under SC Ventures, positioning the business as a subsidiary venture rather than a direct bank operation. This structural approach offers regulatory flexibility. Under Basel III capital requirements, which have been in effect since 2022, direct holdings of “permissionless” cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether face a punitive 1,250% risk weighting. By housing the crypto business within SC Ventures, Standard Chartered can reduce balance sheet exposure while maintaining operational control. The timeline for launch remains uncertain as internal planning continues.

The bank has already built momentum in digital asset infrastructure. Through investments in Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, Standard Chartered provides institutional-grade custody and trading services in regulated jurisdictions. In July 2025, Standard Chartered became the first systemically important global bank to offer institutional spot crypto trading. This experience positions the bank well for expanding into prime brokerage services.

Project37C: The Foundation for Tokenization and Market Access

In December 2025, Standard Chartered announced Project37C, a joint venture positioned as a “light financing and markets platform” for custody, tokenization, and market access solutions. While the bank framed this differently from a traditional prime brokerage, the functionality suggests movement toward comprehensive institutional services. Project37C signals Standard Chartered’s broader ambition to bridge traditional finance and crypto markets through infrastructure solutions tailored to institutional needs.

Wall Street Banks Accelerate Their Crypto News Moment

Standard Chartered’s crypto expansion mirrors broader Wall Street momentum. JPMorgan is actively exploring direct institutional crypto trading access and has already deployed blockchain settlement infrastructure and tokenization support. Morgan Stanley has filed applications to launch spot Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana ETFs, positioning itself alongside established players like BlackRock and ARK Invest in the rapidly growing crypto ETF space. US spot crypto ETFs now hold approximately $140 billion in assets under management, with institutional inflows accelerating as regulatory frameworks solidify.

Regulatory Tailwinds: How Policy Changes Reshape Market Opportunity

The policy landscape shift under the Trump administration, which began its term in January 2025, has meaningfully altered institutional crypto participation calculus. Executive actions have established a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and created the White House Digital Asset Working Group, which provides guidance to financial regulators including the SEC and CFTC. These policy developments have clarified the regulatory environment and encouraged financial institutions to build crypto infrastructure openly.

This regulatory clarity is driving institutional demand for sophisticated crypto services. As traditional finance frameworks extend into digital assets, prime brokerages become the natural evolution—offering custody, leverage, settlement, and market access under a unified regulatory structure. Standard Chartered and other major financial institutions are positioning themselves to capture this opportunity by building compliant infrastructure for the institutional crypto revolution.