Standard Chartered is a multinational bank Announce On Thursday it formed a new entity providing custody services for cryptocurrencies and digital assets in the European Union.

This news comes after the company launched digital asset custody services in the UAE in September. Last year, the British Bank become One of the first global banks to enter the field of spot cryptocurrency trading, with... Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading desks.

“We are really excited to be able to bring our digital asset custody services to the EU region, enabling us to support our clients with a product that changes the landscape of traditional finance, while providing the level of security that comes with being a digital asset custodian,” said Margaret Harwood-Jones, Head of Global Finance and Securities Services. At Standard Chartered Bank, in a statement: “an appropriately regulated entity.”

The bank said the new custody service "will serve growing customer demand" and will be based in Luxembourg. Standard Chartered did not immediately respond DecryptionQuestions.

In the digital assets space, custodial services take care of storing digital currencies – a complex process that can frustrate and possibly scare off many potential investors.

Standard Chartered added that it had appointed Laurent Marocchini - who previously worked at securities services firm Société Générale - as CEO of the Luxembourg entity.

The European Union has strict rules on digital assets. The 27-nation bloc in 2023 will establish stricter regulatory frameworks for the industry Crypto Asset Markets (MiCA) The law focused largely on regulating assets that have long been of concern to lawmakers, e.g stablecoins.

Modified by Andrew Hayward