Description
Zodia Custody is an institutional-grade digital asset custody platform designed exclusively for asset managers, financial institutions, hedge funds, crypto natives, enterprises, and government entities.
Backed by Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Emirates NBD, Zodia Custody offers a unique combination of bank-level security controls and operational agility.
Core Features
- Air-gapped cold wallet storage with 24/7 instant withdrawal capability — clients can move assets from cold storage in near real-time without compromising security
- Private keys stored in Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) inside secured data centres, with client-controlled entitlement policies embedded at the cryptographic layer
- Fully segregated wallets — no co-mingling of assets between clients, ensuring clear identifiability and auditability
- Comprehensive insurance programme including leading digital asset crime and cyber policies
- Insolvency-remote structures to protect client assets from the custodian's balance sheet
- SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type I, and ISO 27001:2022 accredited operational controls
Supporting Products
- Staking — participate in staking rewards on idle digital assets
- Interchange — trade securely from cold storage and settle off-venue with an expansive network of trading partners
- Zodia Solutions — white-label custody infrastructure for regulated financial institutions to offer custody services to their own clients
- Gateway — API-based connectivity for seamless integration
- Switch — asset conversion between digital assets
Zodia Custody operates 24/7 across seven offices in London, Dublin, Luxembourg, the UAE, Sydney, Singapore, and Hong Kong, servicing clients in over 15 jurisdictions.
Highlights
Pros
- Air-gapped cold storage with 24/7 instant withdrawals, eliminating the traditional trade-off between cold wallet security and operational speed
- Backed by five major financial institutions (Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, Emirates NBD), providing bank-level governance and balance-sheet strength
- FIPS 140-2 Level 3 Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) protect private keys inside geo-redundant data centres with client-controlled cryptographic entitlement policies
- SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type I, and ISO 27001:2022 accredited with comprehensive digital asset crime and cyber insurance policies in place
- Regulated across multiple jurisdictions including UK FCA, Luxembourg CSSF (MiCA CASP + Payment Institution licence), Central Bank of Ireland, ADGM, and Hong Kong
Cons
- Exclusively available to institutional, accredited, and professional investors — retail investors cannot open an account
- Relatively short track record as a company founded in 2020, compared to established custodians with over a decade of operations
- Token coverage is limited compared to competitors, with only select assets that pass the firm's rigorous assessment criteria rather than broad multi-chain support
- Onboarding requires extensive documentation including certified passports, board resolutions, and financial crime compliance attestations — a high barrier even for institutions
- Strategic direction is in flux — Standard Chartered has announced plans to acquire the custody business, creating uncertainty about future independence and structure