(May 5): Standard Chartered’s wholly-owned venture capital unit SC Ventures has invested in crypto trading firm GSR, as the bank pushes deeper into the digital-assets market.
The deal values GSR, which was founded in 2013 by former Goldman Sachs traders, at over US$1 billion ($1.3 billion), a spokesperson for the firm said. GSR is in talks with strategic investors to raise more money — as much as US$150 million — as it looks to scale up operations, said a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named as the details are confidential.
Standard Chartered is among the most active banks in digital assets. It became the first global systemically important lender to offer a spot crypto trading service last year, and is currently setting up a prime brokerage for crypto trading, Bloomberg News reported in January. It has also backed ventures including institutional trading platform Zodia Markets and crypto custodian Zodia Custody.
The investment sees SC Ventures become GSR’s first external shareholder, according to a statement Tuesday in Singapore. The deal is part of a broader partnership that aims to bridge traditional finance and crypto, while widening access to tokenised products.
SC Ventures referred a request for comment back to GSR. SC Ventures chief executive officer Alex Manson said in the statement that the deal reinforces its focus on “building institutional ecosystems that can support deeper liquidity and more resilient market activity.”
A spokesperson for GSR said the firm is “exploring both organic and inorganic opportunities” to build out its capital markets business for institutions and crypto firms.
See also: Bitcoin tops US$80,000, reaching three-month high as stocks rise
GSR’s business spans crypto trading, market making, advisory work, asset management and venture capital investments.
Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja
