StanChart and BC Group partner on institutional digital-asset JV
SC Ventures, the innovation and ventures unit of Standard Chartered, and BC Technology Group (BC Group), Asia’s leading digital asset company and parent of Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-licensed digital-asset platform OSL, today announced they have partnered to establish a digital asset brokerage and exchange platform for institutional and corporate clients in the UK and Europe.
BC Group Chief Information Officer Usman Ahmad will be CEO of the new company, and Nick Philpott of SC Ventures will be COO.
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, Ethereum and other digital assets. The JV aims to launch in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals.
The JV further cements Standard Chartered and BC Group as leaders in the development of global digital-asset infrastructure. In December 2020, SC Ventures announced a strategic partnership with Northern Trust to launch Zodia Custody, an institutional-grade custody solution for digital assets. Zodia is designed to enable institutions to invest in digital assets that are transforming how financial markets operate, including transaction and settlement.
In addition, Standard Chartered has invested in core blockchain technology provider Metaco and is collaborating with the Bank of Thailand and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to explore distributed ledger interoperability for cross-border fund transfers.
BC Group is the parent company of OSL, Asia’s leading digital asset platform, which in December 2020 was the first firm to receive a Type 1 (dealing in securities) and 7 (automated trading service), from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). It is now the world’s first SFC-licensed, listed, digital asset wallet-insured, Big-4 audited digital asset trading platform for institutions and professional investors.
OSL offers customers secure and compliant trading access to Bitcoin, Ethereum and other high-quality digital assets, along with select security token offerings (STOs). Its SFC-licensed subsidiary, OSL Digital Securities, made history in March when it executed Hong Kong’s first-ever licensed digital-asset trades.