Standard Chartered PLC is reportedly looking to fully acquire Zodia Custody Ltd. to merge it with one of its digital asset divisions, sources close to the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
The ‘restructuring’ plan, which could come as early as this month, envisions merging Zodia’s cryptocurrency custody business into one of the investment bank’s divisions that provides similar services, sources told Bloomberg.
Sources also said that Standard Chartered is considering allowing Zodia Custody to continue operating as a separate software-as-a-service (SAAS) business for cryptocurrency custody.
People close to the negotiations, according to Bloomberg, did not clarify whether Standard Chartered has contacted Zodia Custody’s minority shareholders, which include Northern Trust Corp., Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, National Australia Bank Ltd. and SBI Holdings Inc.
Emirates NBD and Northern Trust declined to comment, while SBI Holdings and NAB did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Bloomberg wrote.
Standard Chartered told CoinDesk it would not comment on news of the potential acquisition. Zodia did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
Standard Chartered has expanded its digital asset footprint in recent years. The bank launched its own digital asset custody services from Luxembourg in January last year and introduced cryptocurrency trading for institutional clients last summer, becoming one of the first global banks to offer spot trading in bitcoin and ether.
Banks have stepped up their digital asset activities as regulatory clarity improves in key regions such as the United States and Europe. Cryptocurrency custody in particular has become a competitive battleground, with firms such as State Street, BNY Mellon and Morgan Stanley expanding their presence, and Morgan Stanley recently naming Coinbase and BNY Mellon as custodians of a proposed bitcoin ETF.
Zodia, which targeted financial institutions and began custodying emeralds in June 2025, raised $18.5 million in a Series A funding round in July last year to expand and develop its stablecoin payment services.
The company was originally established in 2020 as a joint venture between Standard Chartered and Northern Trust and has since raised external capital several times. Zodia Custody employs around 150 people across seven offices in London, Dublin, Luxembourg, Singapore, UAE, Sydney and Hong Kong.
