Standard Chartered is teaming up with digital assets prime brokerage FalconX in a deal aimed at bolstering crypto services for institutional investors.

FalconX said in a statement it will tap into Standard Chartered's banking infrastructure and foreign exchange capabilities to streamline access to digital assets for its institutional clientele. 

It will initially focus on clients in Singapore before expanding to other parts of Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S.

Matt Long, General Manager, APAC & Middle East at FalconX, said the move would strengthen his firm's ability to “deliver robust banking and FX solutions to clients who rely on us to operate in crypto markets.”

The announcement marks FalconX's first partnership with a global traditional bank amid a broader wave of institutional interest in crypto, driven in part by the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. last year and increased momentum in efforts to regulate the industry globally.

Standard Chartered, which expects the crypto market to swell to $10 trillion by 2026, is betting big on the sector’s long-term growth. 

Among its initiatives are launching crypto custody services in the UAE, setting up a new digital asset subsidiary in the EU to offer custody, and partnering with OKX to allow institutional clients to post crypto as collateral. 

In 2023, it was one of the first global banks to launch spot crypto trading desks for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

For FalconX, the move strengthens its standing in global markets as it races to meet institutional demand. The firm, headquartered in San Mateo, California, counts major hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, and asset managers among its clients. 

It claims to have, so far, processed more than $1.5 trillion in crypto trades across 400 tokens.

Backed by GIC, Wellington Management, and Tiger Global, FalconX was valued at $8 billion in its last funding round. It recently acquired crypto derivatives firm Arbelos Markets. 

In March, it executed the first block trade of Solana futures on CME Group before its contract launch.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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