Standard Chartered has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Zodia Custody, a firm providing custodian services for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The transaction, announced on October 21, 2026, involves the purchase of 100 percent of Zodia Custody Limited, while the price of the deal was not disclosed. The deal needs to be approved by regulators and meet other closing conditions.
Zodia Custody offers custodian services to financial institutions over digital assets. The company has a presence in several jurisdictions, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg, with its custody operations in the latter four expected to be integrated into Standard Chartered’s Securities Services. The technology and professional services of Zodia will be separated into a separate entity under Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures, with its new brand name to be announced.
LATEST: 💰 Standard Chartered has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Zodia Custody, folding the crypto custody firm into its Securities Services unit, pending regulatory approvals. https://t.co/6d7YkgsPfg
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) October 21, 2026
Zodia Solutions, which will be the new entity to host the technology and infrastructure divisions of the acquired company, will provide technology and infrastructure to the financial sector, including Standard Chartered, with other investors in the entity including Northern Trust, NAB Ventures, SBI Ventures and Emirates NBD Bank.
The two companies had agreed to a non-binding term sheet back in May 2026, with the definitive agreement being signed this week, with the deal still needing to pass through various approvals before it can be fully closed.
The acquisition marks Standard Chartered’s entry into digital asset custodian services, while the bank has been looking to develop its digital money services around cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized money. Its local unit in Singapore had announced plans to offer custody services for certain digital assets, pending regulatory approvals, and is scheduled to launch the service by the end of this year. In the meantime, the bank launched Bitcoin and Ether trading for eligible wealthy customers in the UAE under the approval of local regulators in October.
Standard Chartered received regulatory authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules in Luxembourg in June, while Zodia itself got a payment institution licence from Luxembourg’s financial regulator in the same month, with the company authorized to provide stablecoin custody and settlement services across the European Union.
With the acquisition of Zodia, Standard Chartered can add more digital asset custody expertise to its financial services sector. At the same time, the deal marked the growing interest from big banks to offer regulated services for digital assets. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the deal is still pending the final approvals and closing conditions.
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