Standard Chartered to Acquire Crypto Custodian Zodia

Standard Chartered to acquire digital asset custodian Zodia Custody.

Standard Chartered Bank has agreed to purchase the digital asset custody company Zodia Custody.

The crypto custody service was jointly launched in 2020 by SC Ventures, the venture arm of the financial corporation, and Northern Trust. Initially, the bank held a controlling stake in Zodia through a subsidiary. This 90% stake was diluted after external funding was secured.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The acquisition aims to strengthen the bank’s position in the digital asset custody market. Standard Chartered plans to integrate the custody services into its existing financing and securities business.

“This move will enhance value by unlocking revenue and cost synergies, and provide a more comprehensive offering for clients holding digital assets globally,” the press release states.

All acquired assets will be transferred to an independent entity, Zodia Solutions, which will be established under the management of SC Ventures. The enterprise will continue to “provide bank-grade infrastructure to financial institutions,” operating on a SaaS model.

“The acquisition will accelerate the growth of Standard Chartered’s global digital asset custody portfolio and support the expansion of our financing and securities services business. It also reflects the conglomerate’s unwavering focus on creating a comprehensive digital asset offering and further strengthens our position as a trusted bridge between TradFi and DeFi,” a bank representative stated.

RWA Segment Volume Forecast Raised to $4 Trillion

Standard Chartered anticipates the volume of tokenized assets to grow to $4 trillion by the end of 2028. Analysts believe DeFi protocols will be the main beneficiaries of this trend, reports The Block.

The total figure will be evenly split between stablecoins and other RWA products.

Jeffrey Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, believes that the key growth driver will be the “composability” of DeFi—the ability to use the same asset in multiple scenarios simultaneously. In decentralized finance, a tokenized product can:

• generate yield;
• be used as collateral;
• maintain liquidity;
• move freely between networks.

“This is impossible outside of blockchain,” Kendrick emphasized.

In TradFi, achieving such functionality requires multiple intermediaries and extensive infrastructure.

Earlier in April, Standard Chartered analysts maintained their forecast for DeFi following the hack of the cross-chain protocol Kelp for $292 million.