Standard Chartered and Coinbase announced an expanded partnership to build institutional-grade crypto prime services, targeting trading, prime brokerage, custody, staking and lending. The move combines Standard Chartered’s global banking infrastructure with Coinbase’s digital-asset capabilities to create a single integrated pathway for institutional clients seeking regulated, scalable access to digital assets.
The alliance is positioned as a full-stack solution for institutions, covering secure custody, trading execution, prime brokerage, staking opportunities and lending services. Custody is defined here as the secure holding and administrative management of digital assets on behalf of clients. The partnership emphasises addressing compliance, security and scalability—three constraints that have limited large-scale institutional participation—and seeks to reduce operational complexity by offering these services through a closely integrated platform. The objective is to deliver a single, integrated experience across core institutional functions.
Institutional demand is the immediate driver: clients want crypto exposure only if infrastructure matches traditional finance standards. Standard Chartered contributes a global banking footprint and correspondent services, while Coinbase brings its institutional platform expertise through Coinbase Prime.
Market positions and forward-looking projections
Standard Chartered’s wider digital-asset strategy includes partnerships with 21Shares, OKX, FalconX and StraitsX to support custody, European custody and collateral mirroring, prime-brokerage capabilities, and stablecoin infrastructure; the bank is described as the only Global Systemically Important Bank directly collaborating with a crypto exchange. Coinbase has extended its international push with the launch of ‘Coinbase Business’ in Singapore, supported by Standard Chartered’s ability to handle SGD deposits and withdrawals.
Coinbase reported $245.7 billion in assets under custody as of June 30, 2025, a figure cited to underline its capacity to service large institutional flows. Expectations about market growth inform the partners’ plans: Standard Chartered projects Bitcoin could reach $200,000 by the end of 2025 and forecasts the stablecoin market expanding to $2 trillion by 2028, while Coinbase projects the stablecoin market reaching $1.2 trillion by 2028. These projections frame the business case: greater on‑ and off‑ramp activity, higher custody demand and expanded trading and lending volumes for institutional clients.
The collaboration represents a deliberate effort to make crypto infrastructure familiar and compliant for large financial institutions, marrying bank-grade controls with exchange-grade execution and custody.
