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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