Standard Chartered plans to acquire the crypto custody business of Zodia Custody, its majority-owned subsidiary, folding operations directly into the bank's own digital asset infrastructure.
The bank's non-binding offer has been accepted by other Zodia Custody shareholders and noteholders, according to a statement cited by Bloomberg.
Zodia Custody will continue to operate as a standalone software-as-a-service platform after the transaction closes.
Zodia Custody launched in 2020 as a joint venture between SC Ventures, Standard Chartered's innovation arm, and Northern Trust, raising $36 million in 2023 and in talks for a further $50 million round as recently as late 2024.
The absorption is perhaps the logical endpoint of a strategy Standard Chartered has been executing in parallel for over a year.
