Zodia Custody

About Zodia Custody

Zodia Custody operates as an institution-first digital asset custody platform, originating from a 2020 joint venture between Standard Chartered, via its SC Ventures arm, and Northern Trust. Later, it attracted further investment from notable financial institutions including SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Emirates NBD. The company was established to meet the growing demand from institutional investors for a secure and compliant infrastructure to safeguard digital assets.

The firm's initial CEO was Maxime de Guillebon, who previously spent 14 years at Standard Chartered in roles related to transaction banking and digital channels before moving to the bank's innovation unit, SC Ventures. In January 2023, Julian Sawyer took over as CEO in a planned succession designed to scale the business. Sawyer brings extensive experience from the fintech and digital asset sectors, having co-founded Starling Bank where he was the COO, and holding leadership roles at crypto exchanges Gemini and Bitstamp.

The core of Zodia Custody's business is providing high-security, segregated cold storage for digital assets, targeting institutional clients such as asset managers, corporate and institutional investors. Its business model is built on offering bank-grade custody solutions that adhere to stringent regulatory and compliance standards, holding registrations with financial authorities in the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong. The company generates revenue through custody fees and related services.

A key service is 'Interchange', a solution that allows clients to keep their assets within Zodia's secure custody while mirroring those holdings on cryptocurrency exchanges for trading. This structure is designed to mitigate counterparty risk and protect assets from potential exchange insolvencies, a critical concern for institutional participants. Another offering, Zodia Rewards, allows clients to earn discretionary rewards on their eligible holdings and waives custody fees for certain stablecoins and tokens. The platform supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets, including being a custody provider for tokenized real-world assets like BlackRock's BUIDL fund through a partnership with Securitize.