Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody Raises $36M in Series A

Thursday, 27/04/2023 | 16:48 GMT by Solomon Oladipupo

The custody service plans to extend its token coverage, among other steps.

The SC arm recently tapped SBI Holding's crypto arm to introduce its services in Japan.

Zodia Custody, a cryptocurrency custody service launched by the British banking giant, Standard Chartered in late 2020, raised US$36 million from a Series A funding round. The round received participation from Chicago-based financial services company, Northern Trust Corporation, and Japanese financial services firm, SBI Holdings. In addition, SC Ventures, the venture arm of Standard Chartered, participated in the exercise.

According to CoinDesk, the firm will use the new capital injection to expand its token coverage and upgrade Interchange, its settlement product designed to protect digital assets traded on crypto exchanges.

“We believe this investment is a vote of confidence in our team, technology, and vision for the future of digital assets,” Zodia Custody said in a LinkedIn post. “We remain committed to delivering best-in-class solutions to our clients and driving innovation in the industry, free from compromise.”

The new funding comes three months after Zodia Custody tapped SBI Holding’s digital asset arm to introduce crypto asset custody services to institutional investors in Japan. According to CoinDesk, SBI Digital Asset Holdings, SBI Holding's crypto arm, takes the majority stake (51%) in the business, with Zodia Custody holding the remaining 49%.

However, the business is still seeking to get licensed by the Japanese Financial Services Agency. Additionally, it needs to get anti-trust and foreign direct investment clearance from the country.

Zodia Markets Launches Crypto Exchange

Meanwhile, Zodia Markets, Standard Chartered's institution-first digital asset marketplace, recently launched its institutional crypto exchange and brokerage business after gaining mandatory crypto asset registration from the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

Zodia Markets, which was established in 2021, is the product of a partnership between SC Ventures and BC Technology Group, the parent company of OSL, which is Hong Kong's first regulated crypto exchange. The platform offers enterprise-grade execution services for institutional investors alongside FIX application programming interface (API) connectivity for crypto trading.

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However, the business is still seeking to get licensed by the Japanese Financial Services Agency. Additionally, it needs to get anti-trust and foreign direct investment clearance from the country.