Zodia Custody | Crypto

Standard Chartered is reportedly exploring a shake-up of Zodia Custody that would bring parts of the crypto custodian inside its own investment bank. Standard Chartered is reportedly weighing a restructuring of its majority-owned crypto custodian Zodia Custody, as large banks look to bring more digital asset infrastructure inside their core banking operations. The United Kingdom-based lender plans to fold Zodia’s crypto custody business into a division inside its corporate and investment bank that already offers similar services, while keeping Zodia operating as a standalone Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform for digital asset custody, according to Bloomberg on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. An announcement on the restructuring could reportedly come as soon as this month. It is not yet clear whether Standard Chartered has opened negotiations with Zodia’s minority shareholders, which include Northern Trust, Emirates NBD, National Australia Bank and SBI Holdings. Read more

Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Custody has exited its Japan venture with SBI Holdings after two years, with both firms calling the move a strategic realignment. Zodia Custody, the digital asset custody firm backed by Standard Chartered, has dissolved its joint venture with Japan’s SBI Holdings two years after launching the initiative. The venture, known as SBI Zodia Custody, was 51% owned by SBI and 49% by Zodia Custody. According to its website, the project aimed to replicate institutional-grade custodial services in the digital asset space. “This is a strategic alignment between SBI and ourselves as a mutual decision that we have other priorities and they have other priorities,” Julian Sawyer, CEO at Zodia Custody, reportedly told Bloomberg. Read more