Standard Chartered Initiates Crypto Research

In what it says is a response to rapidly growing institutional interest in publicly-traded digital assets, Standard Chartered’s global research team has initiated coverage of crypto assets with in-depth reports on bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

The crypto research team is led by Geoff Kendrick, who also heads emerging markets FX (west), and includes quantitative strategist Melissa Chan and Europe economist Christopher Graham. StanChart says the team will provide insights to clients looking to invest in or trade crypto assets, keeping them up to date with the latest developments and pricing outlook.

“The gap between traditional finance and the digital world is narrowing by the day,” says Eric Robertsen, global head of research and chief strategist for Standard Chartered. “As our clients begin exploring cryptocurrencies, other digital assets and decentralised finance, we aim to add value to their investment and risk-management strategies and help them navigate and incorporate this new asset class into their businesses.”

This is just the latest foray into the digital assets world by the bank, which earlier this year announced the launch of a UK crypto exchange backed by its innovation and ventures unit SC Ventures, followed by a joint venture crypto custody business, Zodia Custody, with Northern Trust. StanChart has also recently become the first bank to join the Global Digital Finance Board which is dedicated to developing best practices in the digital assets space.