Key Notes
- Standard Chartered has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Zodia Custody Limited.
- Regulated custody will join the bank while software assets move to Zodia Solutions.
- Completion remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Standard Chartered has signed definitive agreements to acquire Zodia Custody, moving its proposed takeover of the institutional crypto custodian beyond the non-binding offer accepted in May.
The bank’s October 21 announcement says Standard Chartered I H Limited will acquire 100% of Zodia Custody Limited. Completion still requires regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed, The Block reported.
The transaction would bring Zodia’s regulated custody operations into the bank while separating its technology and professional services business into Zodia Solutions under SC Ventures.
Custody Moves into the Bank
Zodia Custody Limited is the parent of regulated operating entities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg. After completion, its custody business will join Standard Chartered’s existing digital-asset custody activities within Securities Services.
Custody involves safeguarding clients’ assets and supporting their administration. The bank plans to combine that specialist crypto capability with its broader securities services, giving institutional clients a more integrated offering across traditional and digital assets.
This is a consolidation of businesses already connected to the group. Standard Chartered’s May 18 release described Zodia as SC Ventures-backed and said shareholders and noteholders had accepted the bank’s non-binding offer. The definitive agreements announced today are a further step toward completion.
Separate Business for the Technology
Zodia’s software and professional services assets will transfer to Zodia Solutions, an independent entity to be established under SC Ventures. That company will supply infrastructure to financial institutions, including Standard Chartered, as they build and expand digital-asset services.
The distinction matters for the transaction’s scope: the regulated custody operation will be integrated into the bank, while the technology business will continue serving financial institutions through a separate company.
Investors backing Zodia Solutions include Northern Trust, Emirates NBD, NAB Ventures and SBI Ventures Asset, alongside other investors listed in the announcement. Their involvement in the infrastructure business is separate from Standard Chartered’s agreement to acquire the custodian.
Part of Wider Custody Expansion
The agreement follows Standard Chartered’s Singapore plans announced earlier this month. That offering is intended for institutional and accredited-investor corporate clients and remains subject to applicable regulatory requirements.
The bank has also launched institutional RLUSD custody on XRP Ledger through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch. A related collateral arrangement with Ripple and LMAX remains a separate planned integration with further conditions to satisfy.
Standard Chartered says it expects no client disruption from the Zodia transaction and that existing custody clients continue to be serviced as usual. The October announcement does not specify a completion date; regulatory approval and closing remain the next milestones.
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