Standard Chartered’s crypto arm Zodia launches in Singapore
Zodia Custody, the cryptocurrency custodian owned by Standard Chartered, announced on Tuesday that it is launching its services in Singapore for financial institutions, CNBC reported. Standard Chartered is a UK-based multinational banking group with total assets of $838.7 billion as of July 2023.
See related article: Will Singapore steady the stablecoin ship?
Brief information
- Zodia is reportedly the first bank-owned company to offer crypto custody services to institutional clients in Singapore.
- Singapore is reaching the “next level of maturity” in cryptocurrency regulation and central bank digital currency (CBDC) development, Zodia CEO Julian Sawyer told CNBC.
- Last Wednesday, Zodia announced that it had received in-principle approval from Abu Dhabi to continue regulated over-the-counter crypto broker-dealer activities in the UAE capital.
- In early February, Zodia announced a joint venture with financial services company SBI Holdings for custody services in Japan.
- Standard Chartered launched Zodia in July 2021 with Chicago-based financial services firm Northern Trust.
- Several major cryptocurrency companies with global reach have recently expanded their presence in Singapore. Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss brothers, announced in June that it was increasing its headcount in the city-state to serve as an expansion hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
See related article: Singapore requires crypto firms to hold customer assets in a trust; restricts lending and staking by private users
