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Welcome to the US Cryptocurrency News Morning Briefing – your essential summary of the most important developments in the cryptocurrency world for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee to read today as Standard Chartered tweaks its plumbing, focusing on how it structures exposure, where it places risk, and which assets it believes will be most important when the next institutional wave arrives.
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Today’s Cryptocurrency News: Standard Chartered’s bet on cryptocurrencies may beat Basel III capital rules
Standard Chartered’s reported plans to create a premier cryptocurrency broker may reveal more than just a renewed push into digital assets.
In the listing of the initiative under its investment arm, SC Ventures, the bank appears to be trying to enter the institutional cryptocurrency markets while overcoming one of the biggest obstacles in the sector: the punitive capital treatment of Basel III.
Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter, Where reported The London-based lender is looking to offer Prime a cryptocurrency brokerage, which provides funding, holding and trading services to institutional clients.
The company is expected to fall out of the bank’s central institutional and investment banking division, operating instead under SC Ventures. This structural decision can significantly reduce the capital burden associated with exposure to cryptocurrencies.
Under Basel III rules That was finished By the end of 2022, banks face a risk weight of 1,250% for “uncertificated” digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ether.
Because these fees are much higher than the 400% applied to some venture capital investments, they effectively discourage banks from keeping cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets.
By channeling the cryptocurrency business through a venture-style unit, Standard Chartered can be positioned closer to a light capital framework while remaining within regulatory limits.
The move is in line with the bank’s broader digital currency strategy. Standard Chartered supports institutional platforms, including Zodia Custrade and Zodia Markets, and became the first global systemically important bank to offer spot crypto trading to institutional clients last year.
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As revealed SC Ventures reported work on 37C, a digital business described as a “light finance and markets platform” that includes staking, tokenization, and market access.
Why Ethereum Firms Over Standard Chartered’s Institutional Outlook
The Bank’s research perspective reinforces this institutional positioning. In a recent note, Jeff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, said Ethereum is still likely to outperform Bitcoin, even as Bitcoin’s weaker-than-expected performance weighs on the broader digital asset market.
“ETH-BTC is expected to return to the highs in 2021,” Kendrick said, noting that while Bitcoin’s dominance continues to reduce absolute returns across cryptocurrencies, Ethereum’s relative fundamentals have strengthened.
Kendrick said To continue buying from the largest digital asset treasury company focused on EthereumEthereum’s dominance in stablecoins, real-world assets, and decentralized finance, and progress on plans to increase Tier-1 Ethereum throughput tenfold.
Kendrick also pointed to regulation as a potential catalyst. A recommendation can help US CLARITY ACTwhich will establish a clearer framework for digital assets, Ethereum in particular, opening up the development of more DeFi.
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While Standard Chartered lowered its 2026-2028 earnings forecast in US dollars/Africa due to general market weakness, it raised its longer-term outlook, predicting European earnings to reach $40,000 by the end of 2030.
“Despite our more positive forecast for ETH vs. BTC, we have lowered our ETH-USD forecast for the 2026-28 season due to the weakness of BTC. However, we are raising our forecast for the ETH-USD index for the end of 2029, and we see the price reaching $40,000 by the end of 2030,” Kendrick added.
Together, the bank’s market structure strategy and research perspective point to a coherent institutional thesis. Prime brokerage is emerging as a vital layer of the cryptocurrency market structure as institutional participation accelerates.
Standard Chartered’s approach highlights the growing tension between regulatory intentions and market realities. As global regulators discuss reconsidering cryptocurrency capital rules, banks are already starting to find ways to participate without waiting for reform.
If successful, Standard Chartered’s expansion led by SC Ventures could become a model for how global banks interact with cryptocurrencies, with institutional adoption quietly reshaped by the structure.
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Today’s map
Alpha is a byte size
Here’s a roundup of more US cryptocurrency news to follow today:
Overview of Pre-Market Cryptocurrency Stocks
| Company | Closed until January 9th | Early market overview |
| Strategy (MSTR) | $157.33 | $157.88 (+0.35%) |
| Coinbase (COIN) | $240.78 | $239.94 (-0.25%) |
| Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) | $24.94 | $25.02 (+0.32%) |
| Mara Holdings (MARA) | $10.22 | $10.22 (0.00%) |
| RIOT Platforms | $15.32 | $15.33 (+0.065%) |
| Basic Sciences (CORZ) | $17.14 | $17.08 (-0.35%) |
