Standard Chartered Bank has agreed to purchase the digital asset custody company Zodia Custody.

The crypto custody service was launched in 2020 through a partnership between SC Ventures, the bank's venture arm, and Northern Trust. Initially, the bank held a controlling stake in Zodia through its subsidiary, but this 90% share was diluted after raising external funding.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The acquisition aims to strengthen the bank's position in the digital asset custody market. Standard Chartered plans to integrate custody services into its existing financing and securities business.

“This move will enhance value by unlocking revenue and cost synergies, and will provide a more comprehensive offering for clients holding digital assets worldwide,” the press release stated.

All acquired assets will be transferred to an independent entity, Zodia Solutions, which will be established under the management of SC Ventures. The enterprise will continue to “provide bank-grade infrastructure to financial institutions,” operating on a SaaS model.

“The acquisition will accelerate the growth of Standard Chartered's global digital asset custody portfolio and support the expansion of our financing and securities services. It also reflects the conglomerate's unwavering focus on creating a comprehensive digital asset offering and further strengthens our position as a reliable bridge between TradFi and DeFi,” a bank representative stated.

RWA Segment Volume Forecast Increased to $4 Trillion

Standard Chartered anticipates the volume of tokenized assets will reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028. According to analysts, DeFi protocols will be the main beneficiaries of this trend, as reported by The Block.

The total figure is expected to be evenly split between stablecoins and other RWA products.

Jeffrey Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, believes that the key growth driver will be the “composability” of DeFi—the ability to use the same asset across multiple scenarios. In decentralized finance, a tokenized product can:

  • generate yield;
  • be used as collateral;
  • maintain liquidity;
  • freely move between networks.

“This is impossible outside of blockchain,” Kendrick emphasized.

In TradFi, achieving similar functionality requires multiple intermediaries and a complex infrastructure.

It is worth noting that in April, Standard Chartered analysts maintained their DeFi forecast following the hack of the cross-chain protocol Kelp, which lost $292 million in the attack.