Standard Chartered is preparing to absorb the core crypto asset custody operations of its majority-owned subsidiary Zodia Custody into the bank's Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) division, according to sources familiar with the matter. The restructuring, which could be announced as early as April 2026, marks a deeper integration of digital assets into the traditional banking giant's core operations.
Streamlining Redundant Custody Functions
Discussions are private and ongoing, per a Bloomberg report. The plan involves merging duplicative custody functions currently operating in parallel within the bank and within Zodia Custody, which was launched by Standard Chartered through its innovation arm SC Ventures in late 2020 alongside Northern Trust. However, Zodia Custody is not expected to disappear. The firm would continue to operate as an independent software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, offering white-label crypto custody to other financial institutions under their own brand. The practical outcome is a split identity: custody services for bank clients move in-house, while the SaaS business targets third-party banks and fintechs.
The rationale is operational efficiency. Standard Chartered has been building direct digital asset custody and trading services within its CIB unit since at least 2024, including custody services in the UAE launched in September 2024. Performing the same function through both CIB and a separate venture entity created redundancy. Integration would eliminate that overlap.
Zodia Custody's Regulatory Footprint and Business
Zodia Custody holds regulatory licenses in the UK under the Financial Conduct Authority, in Luxembourg under MiCA, in Hong Kong, and in Singapore. It operates from seven offices globally and supports custody for over 75 cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets. Since inception, the firm has positioned itself as "born from banking, built for digital assets," with bank-level compliance and insolvency protections built into its framework.
Japan's SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Emirates NBD hold minority stakes in Zodia Custody. It is unclear whether those shareholders have been formally consulted. As of Wednesday, April 8, 2026, neither Standard Chartered nor Zodia Custody had issued an official statement.
Standard Chartered's Broader Crypto Push
Standard Chartered's wider crypto foray has accelerated through SC Ventures, its venture and fintech investment arm. The portfolio includes Zodia Markets, an institutional stablecoin trading and payments platform whose CEO Usman Ahmad departed in March 2026, and Libeara, a tokenization firm. In January 2026, SC Ventures announced plans for a crypto prime brokerage. The bank also signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's Hana Financial Group for stablecoin ventures and is positioned as a candidate for one of Hong Kong's first stablecoin issuer licenses. In November 2025, it launched a stablecoin-linked credit card partnership in Singapore.
A 2025 partnership with Galaxy Digital enabled Zodia Custody to provide institutional staking services for European clients, covering $4.2 billion in assets at the time. Other integrations include Bitfinex, Membrane Labs, and Fireblocks through Zodia Markets.
Trend: Digital Assets Moving from Venture Labs to Core Banking
This move reflects a pattern gaining momentum in global banking. As regulatory clarity strengthens in major jurisdictions, traditional banks are pulling digital asset functions out of experimental venture units and moving them into core regulated operations. The EU's MiCA framework, the UAE's VARA regime, and Hong Kong's stablecoin licensing rules have all contributed to this shift.
For Standard Chartered's corporate and institutional clients, the integration could mean a unified custody solution combining traditional securities and digital assets within one regulated entity, reducing operational friction in settlement and compliance. For Zodia Custody, the SaaS model remains intact. Banks and fintechs seeking a custody solution they can deploy under their own brand will still have access to the platform.