Banks bullish on crypto: Standard Chartered’s Zodia raises $36M

Global banks proceed to grow their cryptocurrency-related capabilities, with the British multinational slope Standard Chartered raising caller backing for its crypto level Zodia.

Standard Chartered-backed crypto custody subsidiary Zodia Custody has raised $36 cardinal successful a caller bid A backing round, Bloomberg reported connected April 27.

Japanese fiscal conglomerate SBI Holdings has led the fundraise, becoming Zodia’s second-largest shareholder, Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer reportedly said.

Prior to the backing round, London-headquartered Zodia was backed exclusively by Standard Chartered and Northern Trust, with Standard Chartered owning a 90% involvement successful the firm. It inactive remains the bulk shareholder pursuing the fundraise, according to Sawyer.

Zodia CEO emphasized that it’s emblematic of Standard Chartered’s ventures strategy to rise outer backing aft a subsidiary grows to a definite level, stating:

“It is portion of our strategy to beryllium bank-backed, and each the bully things that that brings,” helium said. “That doesn’t mean determination has to beryllium a azygous bank.”

With caller funding, Standard Chartered’s Zodia plans to summation the magnitude of supported cryptocurrencies, including staked Ether (ETH).

The steadfast volition besides passageway the recently raised funds for geographic enlargement beyond its contiguous markets successful Europe and Asia. The steadfast is peculiarly funny successful opportunities successful the Middle East but is readying to enactment distant from the United States owed to regulatory uncertainty.

Sawyer noted that there's a monolithic deficiency of clarity regarding what cryptocurrencies should beryllium considered securities successful the United States. “We anticipation the U.S. creates that clarity, but astatine the moment, it’s just to accidental that it’s hard to spot what that volition beryllium successful the adjacent 12 to 18 months,” the CEO added.

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The quality comes soon aft Zodia expanded its concern successful Japan done a associated task with SBI Holdings successful February 2023. Just similar the planetary Zodia division, its Japanese spinoff targets lone organization investors. The associated task is owned 51% by SBI’s crypto outfit SBI Digital Asset Holdings and 49% by Zodia Custody.

One of the biggest banks successful the United Kingdom, Standard Chartered primitively announced plans to supply organization custody for cryptocurrencies similar Bitcoin (BTC) backmost successful 2020. Launched successful 2021, Zodia has survived the crypto carnivore marketplace of 2022 and large manufacture collapses similar FTX and Celsius.

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