Banks’ continual interest in the future of cryptocurrencies is causing an evolutionary shift in the world of finance.
The recent development in this trend is that a world-recognized British bank (Standard Chartered) raised $36 Million in funding for a crypto project.
Several other prominent institutions also backed the bank in this funding round.
This recent development marks a significant milestone in the crypto ecosystem and will attract more investors to the industry.
Standard Chartered Subsidiary (Zodia) Raises $36 Million
Zodia Custody Ltd (A Standard Chartered subsidiary), focusing on cryptocurrency, has closed a $36 million crowdfunding round conducted by SBI Holdings.
Zodia will use the fund to expand its business internationally and enable them to add support for more digital assets like staked ether (ETH).
The injection of funds will be used to expand the company’s off-exchange settlement services.
These services aim to safeguard customer assets exchanged on cryptocurrency exchanges and their interchange and token coverage.
Sources claim that SBI Holdings and SC Ventures, the venture arm of Standard Chartered, along with other unknown investors, provided most of the investment.
SBI Holdings is now the second-largest shareholder in the business, after Standard Chartered, which owns most of it.
Two investors (Standard Chartered and Northern Trust) formerly sponsored Zodia, with Standard Chartered owning 90% of the corporation.
The announcement follows Zodia’s expansion of its operations in Japan in February 2023 as a result of a joint venture with SBI Holdings.
Its Japanese extension only focuses on institutional investors like the international Zodia branch.
SBI Digital Asset Holdings, SBI’s cryptocurrency arm, owns 51% of the joint venture, while Zodia Custody owns 49%.
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Zodiac Goes Global By Avoiding The US Market
Zodia intends to use the money to reach markets outside of its present ones in Europe and Asia.
The business is particularly interested in possibilities in the Middle East.
Conversely, the United States is off limits for the foreseeable future due to “uncertainty in its regulatory path.”
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Due to the current crypto regulatory uncertainty, the US is not in the London-based crypto custody platform’s expansion ambitions.
Zodia passed a new milestone at a time when financial regulators in the United States are making life difficult for lenders looking into the potential of cryptocurrencies.
Web3 enthusiasts have criticized prominent US financial regulators for its strict, & enforcement-style cryptocurrency regulation.
