SC Ventures, the Standard Chartered Bank investment arm, has made a strategic investment in Bitpanda spinoff One Trading. One Trading will use the investment to launch the first perpetual futures trading in the European Union.
One Trading received an Organized Trading Facility (OTF) license from the Dutch Financial Markets Authority in July, making it the first European cryptocurrency exchange able to offer financial products under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2018 (MiFID II). Crypto assets that are defined as financial instruments are regulated under MiFID II rather than the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
Investing in new market potential
Thanks to its OTF license, One Trading became the only perpetual futures trading platform in the European Union. In addition, it is the first cash-settled perpetuals platform in Europe, including the United Kingdom, and the first regulated European derivatives exchange open to retail clients.
MiFID II increased transparency and consumer protection on European financial markets. SC Ventures CEO Alex Manson said:
“Financial innovation should not come at the cost of consumer protection, that’s why we are glad to see One Trading receiving the OTF License. We congratulate the team on becoming the first MiFID II trading venue for crypto perpetual futures in the EU.”
No launch date for crypto perpetual futures was indicated. The terms of the investment were also not disclosed.
MiddleGame Ventures, Valar and SpeedInvest also participated in the funding round. MiddleGame Ventures was already an investor in One Trading, and Valar invested in Bitpanda in multiple rounds. One Trading, previously known as Bitpanda Pro, spun off from that company in 2023.
Slow approach to Europe
Standard Chartered and SC Ventures have a hand in cryptocurrency businesses worldwide, mainly in Asia and the Middle East. SC Ventures and Northern Trust partnered to launch the UK-registered Zodia crypto custody platform in 2021. Standard Chartered and Chinese fintech Linklogis set up the Olea digital infrastructure platform in 2021.
Source: One Trading
In 2023, SC Ventures established a joint venture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the Japanese conglomerate SBI Holding.
This year, Mox virtual bank, a Hong Kong-based Standard Chartered subsidiary, launched crypto exchange-traded fund trading in Hong Kong. Standard Chartered partnered with Singapore-based Crypto.com to provide fiat currency services in the UAE and partnered with Brevan Howard to open crypto custody services in the UAE.
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