FalconX-Standard Chartered Partnership Shows Growing Institutional Crypto Demand

FalconX, a crypto prime broker, has formed a strategic partnership with global lender Standard Chartered to enhance its offerings for institutional clients. The partnership, announced today (Wednesday), highlights the increasing demand for digital assets.

Providing Banking Infrastructure

“As institutional demand for digital assets continues to grow, we're proud to provide the banking infrastructure that enables firms like FalconX to deliver world-class trading and financing solutions to institutional clients,” said Luke Boland, Head of Fintech, ASEAN, South Asia & GCNA at Standard Chartered.

Under the partnership, the bank will provide a comprehensive suite of banking services to FalconX globally. In addition, the crypto prime broker will integrate Standard Chartered’s infrastructure and gain access to an extensive range of currency pairs for cross-border settlements for its institutional client base.

The Growing Demand for Crypto Prime Brokers

Prime brokers play a key role in financial markets, including the expanding crypto sector, by offering a range of services such as trading, custody, and lending to major institutions like hedge funds, banks, and private equity firms.

Banks are major players in the prime brokerage space. However, when it comes to crypto, they have been hesitant to act as prime brokers due to regulatory uncertainty, market volatility, and concerns around custody and compliance. This gap has supported the rise of crypto-specific prime brokers.

Last month, Ripple agreed to acquire Hidden Road, another crypto prime broker, for $1.25 billion. According to Hidden Road’s International CEO, Michael Higgins, the deal was “pretty organic” as “Ripple was well known to Hidden Road as a customer. Hidden Road was known to members of the Ripple management team. There was a natural relationship between our firms.”

Read more: Ripple-Hidden Road Deal - Crypto Prime Brokers Leave Banks Behind

FalconX, backed by GIC, is a leading crypto prime broker with an $8 billion valuation. It reported record growth in Q2 2024, with revenue increasing 2.5 times compared to the same period in 2023. According to its website, FalconX had completed over $1.5 trillion in trading volume by the end of 2023 and served more than 600 institutional clients.

“At FalconX, we support trading and financing for some of the world’s largest institutions in digital asset markets, and this relationship strengthens our ability to provide robust banking and FX solutions to clients who rely on us to operate in crypto markets,” added Matt Long, General Manager, APAC & Middle East at FalconX.