It said that for cryptocurrency to continue into the mainstream, support for more sustainable crypto-mining will need to accelerate to negate the potential environmental harm caused by current process.
SC Ventures, the Standard Chartered bank's innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm has launched its latest Fintech Bridge challenge, which is looking for ready-to-deploy solutions that will help with making the crypto mining ecosystem more sustainable.
This includes energy management software and services, energy or miner marketplaces, energy waste transformation solutions, microgrid optimization, ASIC manufacturing, and green coin protocols. Fintech Bridge challenges offer committed funding from the bank, one its ventures, or one of the bank's clients, and the current one closes on June 18.
Zer0-Carbon «is a Must»
«We have a firm conviction that digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, are here to stay as an asset class. However, the environmental impact from crypto mining remains problematic due to its energy-intensive process,» Alex Manson, head of SC Ventures, told finews.asia.
«Zero-carbon is a must for us and our future generations to remediate climate change. This challenge is one step to address one of our industry’s key challenges in doing things sustainably,» Manson added.
Digital Asset Exchange
On Wednesday, the bank also announced a partnership with BC Group, which operates digital asset platform OSL, to establish a U.K.-based institutional digital asset trading venture. The JV, planned for the fourth quarter of 2021, will connect institutional traders to counterparties across markets, delivering access to pools of liquidity in bitcoin, ethereum and other digital assets, according to the announcement.
BC Group CIO Usman Ahmad was appointed CEO of the new entity, while Nick Philpott of SC Ventures was appointed COO.
The bank has previously announced a strategic partnership with Northern Trust to launch an institutional-grade custody solution for cryptocurrencies, and has invested in Metaco, which runs an institutional operating system for digital assets.
