Standard Chartered to Prime Broker Bitcoin, Ethereum on 24X Platform

24X Bermuda Limited will add Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to its institutional trading platform under an expanded prime brokerage partnership with Standard Chartered, the two firms announced. The move makes 24X the first trading platform to offer both crypto and FX products with a single bank acting as central counterparty.

Under the structure, counterparties face only Standard Chartered while accessing over-the-counter liquidity through 24X. The platform operates the execution-only venue and handles liquidity configuration, matching and straight-through processing (STP), the automated passage of trades from execution to settlement without manual re-entry.

What does the expansion change for institutional desks?

The arrangement extends an existing relationship. 24X and Standard Chartered's Prime Brokerage business already give clients access to FX non-deliverable forwards (NDFs), FX spot, FX deliverable swaps, FX non-deliverable swaps and metals. Bitcoin and Ethereum trading will operate in the same capacity, meaning desks can add crypto exposure without building a new counterparty workflow or credit line beyond the existing Standard Chartered relationship.

24X is globally recognized as a leading FX NDF platform and also offers FX spot and swaps. The firm said it aims to apply that expertise to drive institutional adoption of digital assets. 24X positions itself as one of a select few global platforms offering both crypto spot and FX trading on a single, unified technology infrastructure.

The announcement follows a milestone for the platform. Standard Chartered recently served as liquidity taker for the first spot cryptocurrency trades executed on 24X, with Cumberland DRW and Wintermute acting as liquidity providers.

24X CEO and Founder Dmitri Galinov said: "Institutional interest in digital assets is rapidly increasing, and this expansion of our partnership with Standard Chartered will enable the 24X platform to continually meet that demand."

Galinov added: "Our crypto trading infrastructure delivers the deep liquidity, rigorous oversight, and the same seamless workflow global financial institutions have come to expect from 24X. We are proud to deepen our relationship as global markets continue to converge around digital assets."

Who regulates the crypto activity?

24X Bermuda Limited's cryptocurrency activity is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. The firm also offers deliverable swaps, non-deliverable swaps, metals and spot products to institutional customers alongside NDFs.

Since launching in 2019, 24X has built its offering around multi-asset access through a single trading interface, which the company says has enabled market participants to reach increased liquidity at lower cost. Through its subsidiary 24X National Exchange, trading in U.S. equities is available 16 hours a day, five days a week via broker-dealers approved as members of the exchange.

For execution desks, the practical question is how quickly BTC and ETH volumes on 24X scale against incumbent crypto venues, and whether the single-counterparty model with a major international banking group draws flows that previously stayed in bilateral OTC relationships. With Standard Chartered already active as a liquidity taker on the platform and two named market makers providing crypto liquidity, the infrastructure now exists for institutions to route digital asset trades through the same prime brokerage channel they use for FX and metals.