Standard Chartered CEO Predicts ‘Complete Rewiring’ of Finance as Blockchain Adoption Accelerates

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters says the financial world is on the verge of a major transformation, predicting that nearly all global transactions will eventually settle on blockchain ￰0￱ Takeaways: Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters predicts that nearly all global transactions will eventually be settled on blockchain ￰1￱ said the transition to digital money will require years of ￰2￱ bank is expanding its blockchain projects, including a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin and tokenization ￰3￱ at Hong Kong FinTech Week on Monday , Winters said digital money and blockchain-based settlements will define the next era of global finance. “Our belief, which I think is shared by the leadership of Hong Kong, is that pretty much all transactions will settle on blockchains eventually, and that all money will be digital,” he ￰4￱ Shift Will Require “Complete Rewiring” of Global Finance Winters added that the shift will require years of experimentation and collaboration between governments, regulators, and the private sector.

“Think about what that means: a complete rewiring of the financial system,” he ￰5￱ Chartered, headquartered in London and listed in both London and Hong Kong, has been one of the most active traditional banks embracing blockchain ￰6￱ bank operates digital asset custody services, trading platforms, and tokenization ￰7￱ praised Hong Kong’s role in pioneering regulation and innovation, highlighting the city’s leadership in digital finance alongside Financial Secretary Paul ￰8￱ remarks come as Hong Kong pushes to cement itself as Asia’s crypto and digital asset hub, with a licensing regime for exchanges and pilots in tokenization, a field in which Standard Chartered is directly ￰9￱ assets, such as digital representations of bonds, stocks, or commodities, can be recorded and traded on ￰10￱ can corporates help to make global trade more inclusive and transparent, while also powering their resilience?

Our global survey of 1,200 corporates indicates that almost 40 per cent are using supply chain finance platforms, with an additional 55 per cent looking to adopt… ￰11￱ — Standard Chartered (@StanChart) October 29, 2025 Standard Chartered is also developing a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin in partnership with Animoca Brands and HKT under the city’s new regulatory ￰12￱ said he sees the project as a key step toward building new digital payment infrastructure for international ￰13￱ Standard Chartered chief joins a growing chorus of major finance leaders betting on ￰14￱ CEO Vlad Tenev recently called tokenization a “freight train” headed for mainstream markets within five years, while BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said earlier this year that tokenized securities will eventually encompass “every asset class,” reshaping global ￰15￱ Chartered’s SC Ventures to Launch $250M Digital Asset Fund As reported, Standard Chartered’s venture arm, SC Ventures, plans to launch a $250 million fund in 2026 focused on digital assets and financial services innovation, with backing from Middle Eastern ￰16￱ at the Money 20/20 fintech conference in Riyadh, SC Ventures’ operating member Gautam Jain said the fund will target blockchain, tokenization, and other regulated digital asset opportunities as the firm deepens its fintech ￰17￱ this initiative, SC Ventures aims to establish a $100 million Africa fund and is weighing the launch of its first venture debt ￰18￱ in 2018, SC Ventures has expanded aggressively across regions, including launching operations in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, and plans to set up a domestic fund there focused on minority stakes and new business ventures by ￰19￱ the early days of 2025, Standard Chartered secured a Luxembourg license t o provide crypto custody under the EU’s MiCA ￰20￱ came after the bank launched crypto custody services in the UAE after obtaining a DFSA license in Dubai.