Crypto custodian of Standard Chartered bank raised $36 million

Standard Chartered’s cryptocurrency custodial subsidiary Zodia Custody has raised $36M in a Series A funding round. Bloomberg.

Previously, the London-based custodian was owned exclusively by the bank (90%) and financial services provider Northern Trust. Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer declined to disclose the ownership structure after the round, but noted that Standard Chartered remained the majority shareholder.

The venture capital division of SC Venutres and the Japanese financial group SBI Holdings took part in the financing. The latter became the second-largest owner of Zodia Custody, Sawyer said.

In February, the company established a joint venture with the holding company in Japan.

The company will use the funds to expand beyond its current markets in Europe and Asia. According to the head of Zodia, the firm is considering business opportunities in the Middle East. However, the US is “not in the foreseeable future” due to regulatory uncertainty.

“The industry has a problem with which regulator oversees cryptocurrencies and which assets are classified as securities. We hope that the United States will bring clarity, but at the moment it is difficult to understand what will happen in the next 12-18 months, ”said Sawyer.

Zodia is also using the capital it raises to expand its supported digital assets, OTC settlement, and add services, including Ethereum staking. This service is in demand in the market after the activation of the Shapella hard fork in the network, the head of the firm said.

Zodia Custody was launched as a platform for institutional investors at the end of 2020.

Recall that in 2021, the bank’s custodian received a license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

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Standard Chartered’s cryptocurrency custodial subsidiary Zodia Custody has raised $36M in a Series A funding round. Bloomberg.

Previously, the London-based custodian was owned exclusively by the bank (90%) and financial services provider Northern Trust. Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer declined to disclose the ownership structure after the round, but noted that Standard Chartered remained the majority shareholder.

The venture capital division of SC Venutres and the Japanese financial group SBI Holdings took part in the financing. The latter became the second-largest owner of Zodia Custody, Sawyer said.

In February, the company established a joint venture with the holding company in Japan.

The company will use the funds to expand beyond its current markets in Europe and Asia. According to the head of Zodia, the firm is considering business opportunities in the Middle East. However, the US is “not in the foreseeable future” due to regulatory uncertainty.

“The industry has a problem with which regulator oversees cryptocurrencies and which assets are classified as securities. We hope that the United States will bring clarity, but at the moment it is difficult to understand what will happen in the next 12-18 months, ”said Sawyer.

Zodia is also using the capital it raises to expand its supported digital assets, OTC settlement, and add services, including Ethereum staking. This service is in demand in the market after the activation of the Shapella hard fork in the network, the head of the firm said.

Zodia Custody was launched as a platform for institutional investors at the end of 2020.

Recall that in 2021, the bank’s custodian received a license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

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