The Bitcoin and Ethereum trading platform set up by Standard Chartered is about to become operational and will become part of the bank's foreign exchange trading arm, which will operate from London, according to people familiar with the matter. Banks, including Goldman Sachs Group, have been trading cryptocurrency derivatives for years, but strict regulations have prevented them from trading the underlying assets directly. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has proposed that banks must apply a 1,250% risk weight to any unhedged cryptocurrency risk exposure, making it difficult for banks to make profits. According to a report, Standard Chartered is setting up bitcoin and ethereum trading desks, making it one of the first global banks to enter the trading of spot cryptocurrencies.