UK-based banking firm Standard Chartered joins Global Digital Finance patron board

Standard Chartered, a United Kingdom-based multinational banking firm, has joined an alliance of fintech companies and banks aimed at accelerating the adoption of best practices of cryptocurrencies.

In a Wednesday announcement, Standard Chartered said it would be joining crypto and digital finance industry membership body Global Digital Finance, or GDF, Patron Board. As a member, the bank will help engage with international regulators and lawmakers as well as others in the industry to advocate for digital assets.

According to the GDF, Standard Chartered is the first bank to join the group’s patron board, which currently consists of ten other members including crypto exchanges Coinbase, Huobi, SIX Digital Exchange, and 100x Group — the parent company of BitMEX. The alliance aims to drive mainstream adoption of digital assets as well as ensure the development of a proper infrastructure for investors to gain exposure to crypto.

“Thoughtful adoption of digital assets based on the principles of consumer protection and compliance can promote a more efficient and inclusive financial system,” said Standard Chartered’s global head of financial markets electronics trading and platforms Geoff Kot. “Banks have an ongoing responsibility to support the evolution of an open and trusted global financial architecture.”

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Launched in 2018, the group has members in banking, blockchain, crypto, and finance from different countries, and has released statements in support of pro-legislation in the United States. When infrastructure bill HR 3684 was still under consideration in the U.S. Senate, the GDF said it supported language clarifying the definition of brokers and tax reporting requirements as it applied to crypto and blockchain firms.

“As institutional adoption of digital assets rapidly evolves, we must ensure there is the highest level of industry-wide best practices and standards in place, aligned to emerging policy and regulation thinking and development,” said GDF executive co-chair Lawrence Wintermeyer. “GDF and our members are at the forefront of creating these standards in a shared engagement forum with market participants, policymakers, and regulators.”