Bitcoin collateral, not trading volume, will signal real bank adoption: fintech veteran

Fintech veteran Wojciech Kaszycki has identified three tests for real bank adoption of Bitcoin: client custody balances, credit-funded spot trades and its use as loan collateral, following Standard Chartered’s launch of deliverable BTC and ETH trading for eligible UAE institutions. Summary Standard Chartered now offers institutional BTC/USD and ETH/USD trading through its existing electronic channels. Kaszycki said bank credit lines, custody, and back-office integration matter more than a familiar trading screen. Bitcoin-backed loans with published collateral haircuts would show that banks can price and manage the asset’s risk. Crypto-native venues may retain their advantage in weekend liquidity, derivatives, and trading outside banking hours. Standard Chartered has put Bitcoin trading on existing bank rails Standard Chartered said on Sept. 3 that eligible institutions can trade deliverable Bitcoin and Ether through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch, making it the first global systemically important bank to offer institutional digital asset spot trading in the UAE. The service supports BTC/USD and ETH/USD trades through the bank’s existing electronic channels, includi...