Standard Chartered moves to take full control of crypto custodian Zodia, Bloomberg reports
Standard Chartered PLC is reportedly preparing to fully acquire Zodia Custody Ltd. and fold its crypto custody business into one of the bank’s digital-asset divisions, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The restructuring — which could be announced as soon as this month — would bring Zodia’s institutional custody capabilities directly under Standard Chartered’s operating umbrella.
According to the Bloomberg sources, the bank is also weighing a hybrid approach that would keep Zodia running as a separate software-as-a-service (SaaS) custody platform while integrating its core custody operations with Standard Chartered’s own digital-asset unit.
Ownership and comment status
- Zodia’s minority shareholders include Northern Trust Corp., Emirates NBD, National Australia Bank (NAB) and SBI Holdings. Bloomberg’s sources did not make clear whether those investors have been formally approached about the potential deal.
- Emirates NBD and Northern Trust declined to comment; SBI Holdings and NAB did not immediately respond.
- Standard Chartered told CoinDesk it would not comment on takeover reports, and Zodia did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation.
Why it matters
Standard Chartered has been ramping up its digital-asset footprint in recent years: it launched custody services out of Luxembourg in January last year and rolled out institutional spot bitcoin and ether trading the following summer, becoming one of the first global banks to offer both custody and spot trading for major tokens. As regulatory clarity improves in key jurisdictions such as the U.S. and Europe, custody has become a hot competitive front for banks. Firms including State Street, BNY Mellon and Morgan Stanley have all expanded in custody — Morgan Stanley recently named Coinbase and BNY Mellon as custodians for a proposed bitcoin ETF.
Zodia’s background
- Founded in 2020 as a joint venture between Standard Chartered and Northern Trust, Zodia was built to serve financial institutions and has since raised external capital multiple times.
- The company raised $18.5 million in a Series A round in July last year to expand stablecoin payment services.
- Zodia employs around 150 people across seven offices in London, Dublin, Luxembourg, Singapore, the UAE, Sydney and Hong Kong.
Potential implications
A full takeover and integration would tighten Standard Chartered’s control over its custody offering and could streamline product delivery for institutional clients, while preserving Zodia as a standalone SaaS option would let the bank maintain a broader go-to-market footprint. The story is unfolding, and any formal announcement will be closely watched as banks continue to jockey for position in institutional crypto services.
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