zodia

Institutional digital asset custodian Zodia Custody's CEO Julian Sawyer announced his resignation and will take on the role of strategic advisor. In a memo sent to employees on September 10, Sawyer stated that Standard Chartered Bank's acquisition of Zodia Custody's custody business and the establishment of Zodia Solutions provided an appropriate time for him to hand over daily leadership responsibilities, and he will continue to be closely involved in company affairs.According to the memo, Zodia Custody's Chief Revenue Officer Richard Clark will lead the company’s transition to Standard Chartered Bank and will be responsible for the custody business; current executives Craig Perrin and Anoosh Arevshatian will be responsible for the establishment of Zodia Solutions. A spokesperson for Zodia Custody confirmed this personnel change. Zodia Custody is an institutional-grade digital asset custodian based in London, supported by Standard Chartered Bank and other banks, providing regulated asset custody, wallet infrastructure, staking, and over-the-counter settlement services for financial institutions, asset management companies, and others.This arrangement differs from previous plans. In May of this year, SC Ventures announced that Sawyer would serve as CEO of Zodia Solutions after the acquisition was completed. Standard Chartered Bank stated in May that Zodia's shareholders and noteholders had accepted its non-binding acquisition offer, and the custody business would be integrated into the bank's financing and securities services division, while the infrastructure platform would be spun off into Zodia Solutions, which is under SC Ventures.

The Zodiac team released a security incident analysis report regarding the impact on the Zodiac Roles Modifier, disclosing that the root cause of the vulnerability lies in a flaw in the ERC-1271 transaction signature verification logic: the system only determines the validity of the signature based on the returned "magic value" without verifying whether the call itself was successful, which may disguise a failed verification as a valid signature, bypassing the module authentication mechanism.

The institutional-level digital asset custody platform Zodia Custody announced that it has obtained a payment institution license issued by the Luxembourg financial regulator CSSF (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier), allowing it to compliantly provide electronic money token (EMT, i.e., stablecoin) custody and transfer services across the EU.Zodia Custody stated that this approval is a further expansion based on its already obtained MiCA license, which will enhance its digital asset service capabilities for institutional clients. The company believes that as the application of stablecoins in payment settlement, liquidity management, and corporate fund operations continues to grow, the ability to custody and transfer stablecoins will become a core configuration for digital asset infrastructure providers.Founded in 2020, Zodia Custody focuses on the institutional client market, with shareholders including Standard Chartered Bank, Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, Emirates NBD, and National Australia Bank. Following the approval of the Luxembourg license, Zodia Custody has obtained relevant regulatory licenses in multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and the EU.

According to Bloomberg, Standard Chartered Bank will acquire the cryptocurrency custody business of its holding subsidiary Zodia Custody, and its non-binding acquisition offer has been accepted by other shareholders and noteholders of Zodia Custody. Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered Bank, stated that this merger will pave the way for Standard Chartered to launch cryptocurrency custody services in new markets such as the UK and Australia.After the acquisition is completed, Zodia Custody's infrastructure business will continue to operate as an independent software-as-a-service company, renamed Zodia Solutions, led by current CEO Julian Sawyer, with Standard Chartered's venture capital division holding a majority stake in Zodia Solutions. Existing shareholders of Zodia Custody include Northern Trust, Emirates NBD, National Australia Bank, and SBI Holdings, and discussions are ongoing regarding whether these parties will continue to hold shares in Zodia Solutions.

According to Theblock, institutional payment giants Visa and Stripe, as well as Zodia Custody under Standard Chartered Bank, have become early validators of Tempo.It is reported that Tempo is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 built for high-throughput payments and stablecoin settlements. The project is incubated by Stripe and Paradigm and launched on a private testnet in September. At the same time, Tempo also launched a proxy payment protocol aimed at enabling transactions through software proxies.

According to Bloomberg, Standard Chartered Bank plans to bring the client custody business of its Zodia Custody back under its Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) digital assets division, with an announcement expected as early as this month. After the restructuring, Zodia will operate solely as an independent custody technology software as a service (SaaS) platform.Standard Chartered Bank established Zodia Custody in late 2020 in partnership with Northern Trust through its innovation division SC Ventures, subsequently attracting a few equity investors such as SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Emirates NBD. It currently has about 150 employees across seven offices worldwide.

According to Bloomberg, informed sources revealed that Usman Ahmad, the CEO of Zodia Markets, a cryptocurrency trading company under Standard Chartered Bank, has resigned.The Zodia Markets official website shows that Nick Philpott, who previously served as the head of partnerships at the company, has been appointed as the interim CEO. So far, both Zodia Markets and Standard Chartered Bank spokespeople have declined to comment on the matter.

According to The Fintech Times, Zodia Custody, a digital asset custody institution supported by Standard Chartered, has obtained a crypto asset market (MiCA) license issued by the Luxembourg Financial Industry Supervisory Commission, allowing its European branch to provide regulated custody services across all EU member states as a "passport."To support the expansion of its business scope, Zodia Custody has strengthened its local leadership team. The company announced the appointment of Daniel Soriano as the authorized manager of the Luxembourg office, working alongside Managing Director Ami Nagata.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Standard Chartered PLC's cryptocurrency trading platform Zodia Markets Ltd. announced the completion of a $18.25 million financing.This round of financing was led by the New York venture capital firm Pharsalus Capital, with participation from several institutions including Circle Ventures, The Operating Group, XVC Tech, Token Bay Capital, and Human Capital.

According to ChainCatcher news reported by FinanceFeeds, institutional investors can access the gemstone market through the tokenized product EmGemX, backed by physical emeralds. This product is jointly launched by Swiss fintech company GEMx and Zodia Custody, a compliant custodian supported by Standard Chartered Bank and Japan's SBI Holdings, offering fractional ownership of high-quality emerald collections stored in secure vaults and independently appraised. According to GEMx data, the relevant emerald assets appreciate at an average annual rate of about 9%.Zodia Custody will provide asset custody services regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). GEMx CEO Paul Poltner described this move as "an important milestone in bringing institutional-level trust to the gemstone investment market." The EmGemX tokens are pegged 1:1 to the underlying gemstones, with ownership and transaction records stored on the blockchain.This collaboration aligns with financial institutions exploring the trend of tokenizing real-world assets, aiming to enhance the transparency and accessibility of illiquid markets through blockchain technology. Recently, Zodia Custody also partnered with the tokenization platform Securitize to provide compliant custody solutions for tokenized assets such as BlackRock's U.S. Dollar Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the stablecoin alliance Global Dollar Network announced the addition of 19 new members, including cryptocurrency exchange BitMart, cryptocurrency custody provider Zodia Custody, wallet provider Arculus, and stablecoin payment companies Beam, FOMO Pay, AlfredPay, and Noah.GDN added that cryptocurrency trading platforms CoinMENA, Rain, and Bitwyre, Turkish platforms BiLira and Paribu, Philippine exchange PDAX, London payment company Orbital, as well as cryptocurrency infrastructure providers Aquanow, Caliza, Rakkar Digital, Sling Money, and August Digital have also joined.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, Galaxy Digital has announced the integration of institutional-grade blockchain service provider Zodia Custody to enhance its staking services in Europe.This integration allows Zodia's clients to continue self-custodying their assets while earning staking rewards.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the crypto custody company Zodia Custody, supported by Standard Chartered, SBI, and others, confirmed that its Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Hugh left earlier this year, following the departure of Chief Operating Officer Samuel Howe.Despite the executive changes, the company stated that its workforce has grown from 97 employees in 2023 to the current 140, and it will continue to expand its global business in 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the Indian cryptocurrency exchange Wazirx is preparing to resume operations after a significant security breach that compromised the platform and resulted in substantial financial losses. Following the hack, the exchange implemented stricter compliance measures and overhauled its security infrastructure to prevent such incidents in the future.On March 17, Wazirx announced the appointment of Zodia Custody as its official custodian, a company supported by financial institutions such as Standard Chartered Bank, Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank (NAB), and Emirates NBD. This partnership aims to enhance asset security and regulatory compliance, paving the way for Wazirx's relaunch.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Standard Chartered's crypto custody platform Zodia Custody announced plans to provide institutional-level support for TON ecosystem native assets. The first asset to go live is expected to be STON, which is the governance token of the decentralized automated market maker Ston.fi.

ChainCatcher news, according to Asset Servicing Times, Emirates NBD has invested in Zodia Custody, a crypto custody company under Standard Chartered, through its innovation fund (the bank's corporate venture fund).By investing in Zodia Custody, the bank aims to bridge the gap between traditional financial services in the UAE and institutional digital assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Zodia Custody has partnered with the tokenization platform Securitize to provide regulatory-compliant custody services covering tokenized assets, including BlackRock's BUIDL fund.Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer stated that the growth of BUIDL demonstrates the potential of tokenized assets for institutional investment. Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo added that this collaboration connects traditional finance with blockchain technology, helping institutions securely participate in the tokenized asset market. Securitize has launched fund management services to support the operational and compliance needs of tokenized assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Zodia Custody, the cryptocurrency custody company of Standard Chartered Bank, CEO Julian Sawyer stated in an interview that the company is seeking to raise $50 million from investors to drive its plans to expand into new regions and broaden its product range.Sawyer added that although Zodia currently has the support of several wholesale financial firms, it now hopes to attract a wider variety of investors, including payment and tokenization companies; cryptocurrency-focused consulting firm Architect Partners is assisting with this effort that began last month.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Zodia Custody announced a partnership with the Solana staking market Marinade, allowing institutions to access Solana staking opportunities. Currently, Zodia Custody's staking services also support Ethereum, Polkadot, Cardano, and BNB.