Zodia Custody | Crypto

Standard Chartered will absorb Zodia Custody’s regulated crypto business and spin out Zodia Solutions, as big banks move to own core digital asset custody in-house. Standard Chartered has announced that its offer to acquire the business of Zodia Custody has been accepted by shareholders. The deal, announced Monday, will consolidate Standard Chartered’s digital asset custody operations while separating a standalone infrastructure platform for institutional clients. Zodia Solutions will be established as an independent entity under SC Ventures, backed by several banking investors, including existing Zodia Custody shareholders, and will provide “bank-grade infrastructure” to financial institutions, including Standard Chartered, as they expand digital asset services. Read more

The bank's offer to acquire the slice of Zodia Custody it doesn't already own has been accepted by the firm's other shareholders and noteholders.

BitMEX has partnered with Zodia Custody to enable institutional crypto derivatives trading via off-exchange collateral held in segregated custody. BitMEX, a derivatives-focused cryptocurrency exchange, said it has secured a custody partner to enable asset segregation and trading with off-exchange assets. The company announced Tuesday a partnership with Zodia Custody to allow traders to access derivatives while keeping collateral in segregated custody. The integration is immediately accessible via Interchange, Zodia Custody’s off-venue settlement solution. BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz told Cointelegraph the move reflects lessons from past market failures, including the FTX collapse and the $1.4 billion Bybit hack, which exposed risks tied to unsegregated or compromised exchange-held funds. Read more

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