SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s fintech investment and ventures arm, has invested in European crypto-asset exchange One Trading’s latest founding round.

The fundraising was supported by several investors including MiddleGame Ventures, which increased its stake in the firm; SpeedInvest and Valar were first time investors.

One Trading said the capital will be used to support the launch of the first crypto perpetual futures in the European Union (EU) as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFiD II).

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive is a regulatory framework that the EU rolled out in 2018 to provide a legal framework for securities markets, investment intermediaries, and to trading venues. The regulatory framework aims to increase transparency and improve investor protections across European financial markets.

In July 2024, the Dutch financial market regulator granted One Trading an Organised Trading Facility (OTF) License, establishing One Trading as a MiFID II trading venue.

Joshua Barraclough, founder and chief executive of One Trading, welcomed SC Ventures as a new investor: “As a major, multinational bank with a commitment to innovation, SC Ventures is dedicated to driving digital assets market infrastructure.”

“We believe they can add a lot of value to One Trading and our clients,” he added.

With the OTF License approval, One Trading becomes the only crypto perpetual futures trading venue in the EU and the first cash-settled perpetuals platform in Europe, including the UK. The crypto platform is also the first regulated derivatives exchange in Europe for retail clients.

Alex Manson, chief executive of SC Ventures, congratulated the team on becoming the first MiFiD II trading venue for crypto perpetual futures in the EU.

“We look forward to One Trading providing much needed infrastructure to all participants in the EU and further afield.”

MiddleGame Ventures also reiterated its support. “We are happy to support One Trading to become the undisputed leading onshore, licensed and institutional trading venue the digital assets market has been clamouring for,” said Pascal Bouvier, managing partner at MiddleGame Ventures.

Standard Chartered has been recently eyeing the crypto arena, with the bank launching digital asset custody services in the UAE last month, after it was granted a licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Dubai International Financial Centre(DIFC).

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