SBI, Standard Chartered Subsidiary to Launch Custodian in Japan

Zodia Custody and SBI Digital Asset Holdings (SBI DAH) have announced their joint venture to launch SBI Zodia Custody, a crypto assets custodian in Japan.

The joint venture will target institutional clients and operate in a sophisticated regulatory environment, addressing a bottleneck that has held back interested institutions from participating in the crypto asset space, Zodia said in an announcement.

The joint venture, which is owned 51% by SBI DAH and 49% by Zodia Custody, is subject to anti-trust and foreign direct investment clearances, and licences from the Japanese regulator, the Financial Services Agency. It will "allow both groups to expand their existing markets presence and increase their ability to provide custody services and other ancillary services for crypto assets to institutional clients," London-based Zodia said.

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Zodia, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered with backing from Northern Trust, is a crypto asset servicing provider for institutional investors around the globe, while SBI DAH operates a variety of digital asset-related businesses under the SBI Holdings umbrella.

CEOs of both companies have expressed excitement about the partnership and their shared vision of becoming a trusted global partner in the financial industry.

This joint venture marks the second initiative by SC Ventures – Standard Chartered's venture arm – with SBI since signing an MOU to expand their portfolio and ecosystem building efforts.

SBI DAH subsidiaries include SBI Securities Solutions (Japan), SBI Digital Markets (Singapore) and AsiaNext (Singapore), a joint venture with the SIX Group, among others.

Related: Japan Liberalizes Crypto Industry