Overview
- Sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday that Standard Chartered plans to buy full control of Zodia Custody and could unveil a restructuring this month.
- The reported plan would move Zodia’s client-facing crypto safekeeping into the corporate and investment bank while keeping Zodia as a standalone software service that other firms can use.
- Standard Chartered declined to comment, and Zodia and minority investors including Northern Trust, Emirates NBD, National Australia Bank, and SBI Holdings have not confirmed any talks.
- The bank has been building a digital-asset stack that includes EU custody launched from Luxembourg in January 2025 and spot bitcoin and ether trading for institutions introduced in July 2025, with work on prime brokerage reported in January 2026.
- If completed, the shift could cut duplicate systems for clients and staff and would sharpen competition with large custodians such as BNY Mellon, State Street, and Morgan Stanley as more banks build crypto safekeeping services.