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Independent UK news and guides on tokenised equity, for founders raising capital, investors and the firms that support them. Published by Tokenisation Group Limited, London. Information only, not financial advice.

Standard Chartered signs Zodia Custody acquisition agreements

Writer: Shawn Jhanji
Shawn Jhanji
6 days ago
2 min read

Standard Chartered will acquire Zodia Custody, the institutional digital asset custodian. The Zodia Custody acquisition covers 100 per cent of Zodia Custody UK Limited and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.


Standard Chartered and Zodia Custody represented by a traditional bank and digital asset vault linked by heavy chains, illustrating the acquisition of institutional digital asset custody operations.

The plan is for Zodia to be absorbed fully into Standard Chartered and after closing, custody operations expect to be combined with the existing digital asset custody business inside its Securities Services division.


Global Head of Securities Services and Digital Assets at Standard Chartered Ying Ying Tan, said the acquisition deepens the bank's digital asset custody portfolio. Richard Clark, chief executive of Zodia Custody, added that custody is increasingly becoming part of the global banking landscape.


Zodia Custody's digital asset software and professional services business will separate into Zodia Solutions, a new company established under SC Ventures. The Block reported on 21 October 2026 that Standard Chartered will be one of its customers.


Backers named in the reported announcement include NAB Ventures, Northern Trust, SBI Ventures Asset, Q Studio Restricted Limited (Further Ventures), Emirates NBD and Zodia Investments Limited (Investcorp), alongside Zodia Holdings Limited, owned by SC Ventures.


Tokenised shares custody and the FCA cryptoasset regime

A UK founder planning tokenised shares custody should treat a change of ownership at a custodian like this as a diligence item. Useful questions should include which legal entity will hold client assets after closing, how change-of-control terms in existing agreements will operate, and whether the UK business sits inside the acquired structure.


Timing adds to the checklist too. Under the FCA cryptoasset regime, firms with existing UK cryptoasset business can apply from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, and the regime starts on 25 October 2027, according to the Financial Conduct Authority's consultation paper CP26/36. A custodian changing hands inside that window is a counterparty whose authorisation position requires clarity.



The case for this deal is scale: custody inside a bank's securities services division brings a balance sheet and existing institutional clients. The counterargument is choice. One consequence is a smaller field of custodians that are not owned by a large bank, though the sources reviewed do not size that field. Price, completion date and the UK position are the three facts to watch.


Key takeaways

  • Standard Chartered signed definitive agreements on 21 October 2026 to acquire 100 per cent of Zodia Custody UK Limited, subject to regulatory approvals.

  • The announcement does not disclose a price or a completion date, and The Block reported that completion had been expected by the end of August.

  • Zodia Custody's software and professional services business moves to Zodia Solutions, a new SC Ventures company backed by several banks and investors.

  • The regulated entities named are in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg, and the sources reviewed do not describe the UK position.


This is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.


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