Refuting rumors, Jes Staley, the Chief Executive Officer of British banking giant Barclays, said the bank is not immediately launching a cryptocurrency trading desk, Financial News reported. Staley cited potential compliance and regulatory barriers as reasons but admitted to looking into cryptocurrency-related business opportunities.
In mid-April, reports had emerged that the banking major had reached out to its clients to gauge their interest in a cryptocurrency trading desk. Meanwhile, Barclays is said to be exploring options in blockchain already.
Among other major banks, investment bank Goldman Sachs was reportedly building a cryptocurrency trading desk scheduled to be launched by the end of June. However, the bank CEO Lloyd Blankfein has denied any such move.
Nasdaq Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman revealed in late April that the exchange operator was open to becoming a cryptocurrency exchange over time as the regulation smoothens and the crypto space gets matured.
Very recently, Business Insider Japan reported that Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings plans to launch its cryptocurrency exchange, SBI Virtual Currencies, in summer this year, perhaps the country's first wholly bank-owned crypto exchange.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.