Standard Chartered and Coinbase are expanding their partnership to create comprehensive crypto prime services for institutional clients. The collaboration aims to broaden institutional access to regulated digital asset infrastructure. This move signals a significant step toward integrating traditional banking infrastructure with institutional crypto markets.
The partnership will focus on developing services across trading, custody, staking, and lending. By offering these services, the companies aim to provide an integrated and regulated environment that large financial institutions can utilize without needing to patch together services from multiple vendors.
The collaboration builds upon an existing relationship in Singapore, where Standard Chartered provides banking connectivity to Coinbase. This arrangement facilitates real-time transfers of Singapore dollars for Coinbase customers, enabling faster settlement of fiat transactions related to crypto trading. The expanded partnership seeks to extend this model to a broader global audience, offering a unified product suite that mirrors the institutional experience in traditional markets but is built on digital asset rails.
Standard Chartered's regulatory footprint is a key element of this strategy. With entities like Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets already serving institutional clients, the bank provides a compliance framework and operational controls that are essential for traditional finance. This is coupled with Coinbase's market infrastructure and liquidity.
The timing of this expanded partnership aligns with Standard Chartered's launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for institutions in the U.K. in July 2025. This makes Standard Chartered the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to offer fully deliverable crypto trades within a regulated banking environment. The collaboration with Coinbase is a continuation of this strategy, embedding crypto services within the regulated banking system rather than offering them from the periphery.
The initiative is geared toward institutions seeking secure exposure to digital assets but have been deterred by fragmented infrastructure and unresolved compliance issues. By addressing these barriers, the partnership aims to accelerate institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. The collaboration particularly emphasizes Singapore, a fintech innovation hub, highlighting a maturing crypto ecosystem where institutional-grade solutions are becoming operational realities.
Both companies have emphasized that the focus is on scaling access for institutional participants rather than modifying existing consumer products. Standard Chartered aims to expand its digital asset services within its current banking system, while Coinbase offers trading implementation and access to the crypto market through its institutional platforms. This combination is intended to support institutions requiring compliant access points for gaining exposure to digital assets.
Analysts predict a substantial increase in tokenized assets, potentially reaching $30 trillion by 2034. This growth is expected to be driven by real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and increasing institutional interest in on-chain yields, signaling a shift in perception towards crypto as a legitimate component of diversified portfolios. The partnership between Standard Chartered and Coinbase is designed to facilitate this shift by providing the necessary infrastructure and market access solutions for institutional investors.
