China Merchants Bank's Latest Crypto Partnership Includes STO Investment

The Nervos Network STO kicks off on Oct. 16, aiming to raise an undisclosed amount within two weeks through the CoinList platform.

Nervos project co-founder Kevin Wang told CoinDesk that the Hong Kong-based China Merchants Bank International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank, also committed to contribute an undisclosed amount to the public STO. For context, CMBI isn't directly owned by the government the way the Bank of China is.

With regards to the bank's political context, the Wall Street Journal reported diplomatic tensions over alleged sanctions violations raised the possibility that Chinese banks could someday be shut out of the dollar economy, as sanctioned Iranian banks already are.

Perhaps this is part of the reason why the Chinese outlet Chain News reported CMBI was investing in Nervos to build an "Open" platform and a "New investment bank."

This STO won't be the first time CMBI invested in Nervos tokens.

Press interviews with the Nervos team about this investment described it as a "Partnership" aimed at building "Decentralized applications."

The crypto exchange giant Huobi, is partnering with the Nervos Foundation to create a decentralized finance platform that could provide easier capital flows between cryptocurrencies.

On the other hand, CMBI isn't the only bank aiming to tap into the crypto ecosystem.

WEG Bank AG in Germany is exploring direct conduits to decentralized exchanges, since two of its shareholders work with or partially own DEX startups.

The exchange giant Binance, in addition to working on a DEX of its own, is also a shareholder in the upcoming Founders Bank in Malta.