Standard Chartered, the London-based bank with over $440 billion in assets under management, plans to absorb the crypto custody arm of Zodia Custody as it expands its own crypto services, Bloomberg has learned.
Per the report, the bank's non-binding offer for Zodia's custody business was accepted by other Zodia Custody shareholders and noteholders.
- Standard Chartered already majority-owns Zodia Custody, so the deal is less a brand-new entry into crypto and more a decision to bring the core custody operation closer to the bank.
The move would allow Standard Chartered to offer crypto custody in more markets, including the UK and Australia, Margaret Harwood-Jones, the bank's global head of financing and securities services, told Bloomberg.
- Standard Chartered's venture arm, SC Ventures, and Northern Trust, the U.S. asset-servicing bank, launched Zodia in 2020 as an institutional-grade crypto custodian.
- In 2021, Zodia received registration from the UK Financial Conduct Authority, allowing it to provide commercial crypto custody services.
Zodia splits custody from software
The deal also splits Zodia into two parts. The custody business would move into Standard Chartered, while Zodia's infrastructure business would continue as a separate software-as-a-service company called Zodia Solutions, led by Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer, the report reads.
Zodia Solutions will be majority-owned by Standard Chartered's venture capital arm, Bloomberg said, noting that discussions are still ongoing over which existing Zodia investors will remain shareholders in the software business.
- In 2024, Standard Chartered launched crypto custody services in the United Arab Emirates, with Brevan Howard Digital as an inaugural client.
- In 2025, the bank also formed a Luxembourg entity to offer crypto custody services across the European Union.