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Standard Chartered, BC Technology Group 
SC Ventures, the innovation and ventures unit of Standard Chartered, and Asia-based BC Technology Group have partnered to build a digital asset brokerage and exchange platform for clients in the UK and rest of Europe. The development is another sign of large financial groups tapping into bitcoin and other digital assets.

BC Group chief information officer Usman Ahmad will be chief executive of the new company, and Nick Philpott of SC Ventures will be chief operating officer.

Based in the UK, and initially targeting the European market, the company will connect institutional traders with counterparties across markets, delivering access to pools of liquidity in bitcoin and other digital assets. The JV aims to launch in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals.

"With total market capitalisation of digital assets over $1 trillion, collaboration between market-leading firms is imperative to the continued development of robust global institutional digital asset infrastructure,” Ahmad said.

In December 2020, SC Ventures announced a strategic partnership with Northern Trust to launch Zodia Custody, a custody solution for digital assets. Standard Chartered has also invested in blockchain technology provider Metaco and is collaborating with the Bank of Thailand and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to explore distributed ledger interoperability for cross-border fund transfers.

BC Group is the parent company of OSL, Asia's digital asset platform.