The CEO of Barclays says the U.K. banking giant has no immediate plans to launch a crypto trading desk.

According to a report from the U.K media outlet Financial News on Tuesday, Barclays CEO Jes Stately made the comments in response to shareholders' questions during the bank's annual meeting. There, Staley said the bank has no plan to set up a crypto trading desk amid recent rumors about its possible move into the market, saying that cryptocurrency represents "a real challenge for us" at present.

The news follows reports from earlier this month that indicated Barclays was gauging interest from its clients regarding launching a crypto-specific trading service.

While a spokesperson at the time had already stated that the bank might not move ahead with the launch, Staley's remarks signal that the bank has formally ruled out the possibility – at least not for now.

That said, Staley admitted that the bank is exploring crypto-related businesses with those regulatory issues in mind.

As reported recently, by setting up an series of standards, the U.K.-based bank has perhaps become one of the biggest supporters for making blockchain a reality in the derivatives space.

Barclays image via Shutterstock