ICAP to Launch Crypto Trading Platform with Fidelity, StanChart

(Bloomberg) -- TP ICAP Group Plc is launching a cryptocurrency venue for institutions, expanding its footprint in the volatile market.

The London-based broker, which has offered Bitcoin futures since 2019, said it’s working with Fidelity Digital Assets and Zodia Custody, a unit of Standard Chartered Plc, to provide execution and settlement of crypto trades.

“Many of our clients have been prevented from accessing cryptoasset markets due to current limitations in market infrastructure, with most execution venues requiring pre-funding and also acting as custodian,” Simon Forster, co-head of digital assets at TP ICAP, said in an emailed statement. “This poses challenges from a conflict of interest perspective and results in fragmented liquidity.”

The platform has begun to sign up clients and will launch in the second half of the year with liquidity providers including Flow Traders, TP ICAP said.

It’s also the latest foray into crypto for Standard Chartered, which earlier this month established a partnership with BC Technology Group Ltd., a Hong Kong-based investment company specializing in digital assets. Banks around the world are wrestling with how best to cater to clients seeking exposure to this new and unpredictable asset class.

Neither Standard Chartered nor Fidelity has invested in the new platform, according to Reuters, which reported the news earlier.

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