Standard Chartered has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Zodia Custody Limited, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Zodia Custody is the parent company of regulated digital-asset custody businesses operating in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg.
Following completion, Zodia Custody’s regulated operations will be integrated into Standard Chartered’s existing digital-asset custody activities within Securities Services.
The bank said the acquisition would consolidate its digital-asset custody businesses and support a unified institutional offering covering traditional and digital assets.
Before the transaction is completed, Zodia Custody will separate its digital-asset software and professional-services operations. These assets will be transferred to Zodia Solutions, an independent entity established under SC Ventures.
Zodia Solutions will continue providing infrastructure to financial institutions developing and operating digital-asset services. Its supporting bank investors will include NAB Ventures, Northern Trust, SBI Ventures, Q Studio, Emirates NBD, Investcorp and SC Ventures-owned Zodia Holdings.
“The acquisition of Zodia Custody further deepens our digital asset custody portfolio and reinforces our position as a leading provider of digital asset services globally,” said Ying Ying Tan, Global Head of Securities Services and Digital Assets at Standard Chartered.
Richard Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Zodia Custody, said: “As institutional adoption of digital assets accelerates, custody is increasingly becoming part of the global banking landscape.”
Standard Chartered said existing Zodia Custody clients would continue to receive services as usual, with no expected disruption resulting from the transaction.
Herald View
Standard Chartered wants the licences and the custody clients, not the software. Regulated custody in five markets comes inside the bank, while the technology moves to Zodia Solutions with Northern Trust, Emirates NBD and other banks as backers. No price was disclosed, so the market cannot yet judge what that regulatory footprint cost.
