Every single bank will soon need to hold digital assets, says Zodia CEO Julian Sawyer

Standard Chartered is set to fully acquire Zodia Custody, with a signing targeted for the end of June and completion by the end of August. The deal will fold Zodia’s digital custody operations into Standard Chartered’s existing businesses in Dubai, Luxembourg and Hong Kong, while a new Zodia Solutions unit will preserve the software and infrastructure side backed by banks including Northern Trust, Emirates NBD and National Australia Bank. CEO Julian Sawyer said the takeover validates a trend of big banks buying institutional-grade crypto custody tech rather than building it in-house, likely accelerating institutional adoption, tokenization and stablecoin use as regulation converges across key jurisdictions.