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Standard Chartered signed definitive agreements on Wednesday to acquire the regulated operating entities of Zodia Custody, the digital asset custodian it helped build through its venture arm, according to Cointelegraph. The bank would take 100% of Zodia Custody UK Limited, the parent of licensed units in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates, it said in an announcement dated Oct. 21, 2026. Regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions are still outstanding, and no financial terms were disclosed.
The signing follows Zodia shareholders’ acceptance of Standard Chartered’s non-binding offer, which Cryptobriefing reported took place on May 18, 2026 — about five months before the agreements were executed. Cointelegraph described the May step only as shareholders accepting the offer.
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Key facts
- Standard Chartered is buying 100% of Zodia Custody UK Limited, which sits above regulated entities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Luxembourg and the UAE (Cointelegraph).
- Zodia’s custody operations are to be folded into Standard Chartered’s Securities Services business, which Cryptobriefing identifies as the Financing and Securities Services division.
- The software and professional-services side moves to a new entity, Zodia Solutions, under SC Ventures, which will offer digital asset infrastructure to financial institutions.
- Cryptobriefing reported that SC Ventures held nearly 70% of Zodia, with Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, Emirates NBD and National Australia Bank among minority investors.
- Zodia launched in 2020 as a joint venture between SC Ventures and Northern Trust (Cryptobriefing).
What the two-part structure does
The deal separates Zodia’s licensed custody relationships from its technology business. The regulated units go inside Standard Chartered, consolidating licences, client contracts and operational staff under one corporate roof. The infrastructure arm stays independent, which Cryptobriefing noted may let the bank own the client-facing custody business while continuing to sell the underlying technology to other institutions.
Zodia Custody chief executive Richard Clark, quoted by Bitcoinmagazine, said institutional adoption of digital assets is accelerating and that custody is increasingly part of the global banking landscape. He said combining Zodia’s expertise with Standard Chartered’s reach and platform would strengthen its custody offering. Ying Ying Tan, the bank’s global head of securities services and digital assets, said the deal deepens its digital asset custody portfolio.
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Why it matters
A global bank taking direct ownership of a crypto custodian changes who holds the legal and operational responsibility for institutional digital assets: rather than an affiliated but separate company, the custody business sits inside Standard Chartered. That matters to asset managers choosing a custodian and to regulators assessing who supervises the licences. It also extends a pattern in which large banks enter digital assets through custody first, as BNY Mellon did in the U.S., and fits Standard Chartered’s wider push that included spot Bitcoin and Ether trading for institutional clients in the UAE in September and a trading desk in London in 2025, as Bitcoinmagazine reported.
What to watch
Regulatory approval across the six jurisdictions where Zodia holds licences is the gating item. Bitcoinmagazine reported Standard Chartered has said it plans to launch institutional crypto custody in Singapore by the end of 2026, which would be an early test of how the bank merges its own build with Zodia’s operations.
Reported by cointelegraph.com.
Sources: Cointelegraph, Cryptobriefing, Bitcoinmagazine