TL;DR
- Standard Chartered signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Zodia Custody, although completion remains subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
- Zodia’s regulated custody operations will move into Standard Chartered’s Securities Services business, while its software and professional services arm will become Zodia Solutions under SC Ventures.
- The deal advances a process that began with a non-binding offer accepted in May, with financial terms remaining undisclosed and integration pending completion.
Standard Chartered has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Zodia Custody Limited, moving its digital asset custody strategy toward full control. The transaction will bring Zodia Custody’s regulated operations into Standard Chartered’s Securities Services business, while its software and professional services activities will be separated. The agreements mark a binding step toward acquisition, but completion still depends on regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. This adds context to institutional crypto custody.
Zodia Custody Business Moves Toward Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered I H Limited will acquire all shares of Zodia Custody Limited, which controls entities across Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg. Financial terms were not disclosed. Full ownership would place Zodia’s regulated custody operations within Standard Chartered’s securities services infrastructure after closing. The transaction follows a non-binding offer accepted in May, extending an earlier plan to absorb Zodia Custody into the bank while moving the process from proposal to definitive agreements.
The deal also separates Zodia’s custody business from its software and professional services arm. That unit will become Zodia Solutions under SC Ventures, with Standard Chartered remaining a customer. Investors in the new entity include Northern Trust, NAB Ventures, SBI Ventures and Emirates NBD Bank. The split preserves Zodia’s technology and services business as a separate operation while regulated custody moves inside the bank. This structure distinguishes direct asset custody from the technology layer supporting institutional workflows, a distinction central to bank-led crypto custody models.
The acquisition continues Standard Chartered’s effort to consolidate digital asset services within its banking infrastructure. Zodia’s custody operations would join Securities Services rather than remain in a separately controlled custodian, while Zodia Solutions stays linked to SC Ventures. The transaction changes ownership and organizational structure without eliminating the Zodia technology business. It also follows expansion of Standard Chartered’s custody capabilities, including institutional digital asset services.
The remaining milestone is completion. The signed agreements establish the terms for Standard Chartered to acquire 100% of Zodia Custody, but regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions must still be satisfied. Until those conditions are met, Zodia Custody has not yet become a wholly owned and integrated Standard Chartered operation. Once completed, the regulated custody activities are expected to move into the bank’s Securities Services business, while Zodia Solutions continues separately under the structure.
