It stated that for cryptocurrency to proceed into the mainstream, assist for extra sustainable crypto-mining will want to speed up to negate the potential environmental hurt attributable to present course of.
SC Ventures, the Standard Chartered financial institution’s innovation, fintech funding and ventures arm has launched its newest Fintech Bridge problem, which is on the lookout for ready-to-deploy options that may assist with making the crypto mining ecosystem extra sustainable.
This consists of vitality administration software program and companies, vitality or miner marketplaces, vitality waste transformation options, microgrid optimization, ASIC manufacturing, and inexperienced coin protocols. Fintech Bridge challenges supply dedicated funding from the financial institution, one its ventures, or one of many financial institution’s shoppers, and the present one closes on June 18.
Zer0-Carbon «is a Must»
«We have a agency conviction that digital belongings, together with cryptocurrencies, are right here to keep as an asset class. However, the environmental impression from crypto mining stays problematic due to its energy-intensive course of,» Alex Manson, head of SC Ventures, advised finews.asia.
«Zero-carbon is a should for us and our future generations to remediate local weather change. This problem is one step to deal with one in every of our business’s key challenges in doing issues sustainably,» Manson added.
Digital Asset Exchange
On Wednesday, the financial institution additionally introduced a partnership with BC Group, which operates digital asset platform OSL, to set up a U.Ok.-based institutional digital asset buying and selling enterprise. The JV, deliberate for the fourth quarter of 2021, will join institutional merchants to counterparties throughout markets, delivering entry to swimming pools of liquidity in bitcoin, ethereum and different digital belongings, in accordance to the announcement.
BC Group CIO Usman Ahmad was appointed CEO of the brand new entity, whereas Nick Philpott of SC Ventures was appointed COO.
The financial institution has beforehand introduced a strategic partnership with Northern Trust to launch an institutional-grade custody answer for cryptocurrencies, and has invested in Metaco, which runs an institutional working system for digital belongings.