Traditional financial institutions are increasingly showing interest in venturing into the crypto sector amid growing client demand.
In this line, banking giant Standard Chartered is particularly expanding its crypto involvement by planning to offer spot trading services for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), Bloomberg reported on June 21.
This move will make Standard Chartered, which controls over 800 billion in assets, the first major global bank to establish a spot crypto trading desk. Bloomberg, citing individuals familiar with the matter, noted that the bank will incorporate trading into its FX unit, which will have operations based in London.
“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.
StanChart other crypto ventures
In addition to the planned spot trading desk, Standard Chartered already holds stakes in several crypto-focused firms, including Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, which provide crypto custody and over-the-counter (OTC) trading services.
Moreover, Standard Chartered launched a blockchain unit called Libeara in November to assist institutions with tokenizing real-world assets.
It is worth noting that the bank remains among the major institutions with a bullish outlook on the general crypto sector. For instance, as reported by Finbold, Standard Chartered predicted in May that Bitcoin will likely hit $150,000 in 2024.
To determine how Bitcoin will trade once the desk is set up, Finbold turned to OpenAI’s latest and most advanced artificial intelligence tool, ChatGPT-4o, to gather insights. According to the tool, the move will likely help Bitcoin’s rise since it reflects positive market sentiments. ChatGPT-4 also pointed out that the move will likely drive adoption rates, translating to increased prices.
At the same time, the AI platform noted that Bitcoin is likely to be influenced by other factors such as regulation, macroeconomic elements, and competition.
Bitcoin price prediction
Regarding specific prices, ChatGPT-4o offered three distinct scenarios. First, in the most bullish outlook, the launch of Standard Chartered’s trading desk could spark a significant surge in institutional interest and a corresponding rise in market sentiment.
Should this scenario unfold, Bitcoin could experience a substantial price increase of 20-30%, with the cryptocurrency’s value rising to between $76,800 and $83,200.
The AI platform also suggested a more moderate reaction from the market. In this scenario, the tool noted that while introducing a trading desk is seen as a positive development, it is not deemed revolutionary. The result could be a modest price increase of around 5-10%, bringing Bitcoin’s value to approximately $67,200 to $70,400.
On the other hand, if broader market conditions are adverse or the launch fails to generate significant excitement, Bitcoin’s price might remain stable or decrease slightly. In this case, Bitcoin’s value could hover around $64,000 or decline to between $60,000 and $62,000.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is battling overall bearish sentiments, having corrected by almost 4% in the last 24 hours to trade at $63,609 by press time.
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