Standard Chartered, a British multinational bank, is soliciting extra funds for its cryptocurrency platform Zodia. This is part of a trend in which global banks are becoming more adept at dealing with bitcoin.
On April 27, Bloomberg reported that Zodia security, a crypto security firm sponsored by Standard Chartered, has secured $36 million in a fresh series A fundraising round.
The funding was driven by the Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings, which is now Zodia’s second-largest partner, according to Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer.
Standard Chartered and Northern Trust were the sole investors in London-based Zodia prior to the fundraising round. 90% of the firm was owned by Standard Chartered. Sawyer claims that even after the fund-raising, the firm still has the most shares.
According to the CEO of Zodia, it is typical of Standard Chartered’s project methodology for a firm to seek outside capital after it has achieved a particular level of development, saying:
“It is part of our strategy to be bank-backed, and all the good things that that brings,” he said. “That doesn’t mean there has to be a single bank.”
Standard Chartered’s Zodia intends to increase the number of supported cryptocurrencies, including staked Ether, with new funding.
