Zodia Custody, the Standard Chartered-backed digital asset custodian, is reportedly looking to raise $50 million to fuel its international expansion and broaden its product range.

CEO Julian Sawyer confirmed that the funds would support entry into new markets and add new services, as well as diversify their investor base by attracting backers from the payments and tokenization sectors. The fundraising effort launched last month and is advised by Architect Partners, a crypto-focused consulting firm.

Since its creation in 2020, Zodiac Guard has assisted financial institutions in the secure storage and management of their cryptocurrency assets. The custodian has enjoyed a rapid expansion trajectory in Asia. The company launched its services in Japan, Singaporeand Australia, with Hong Kong being the latest addition to this list.

Julien Sawyer, CEO of Zodia said the demand for crypto in these markets is institutional-driven, which fits perfectly with Zodia’s customer profile.

This round follows a successful $36 million fundraising led by SBI Holdings in April 2023, which was part of Zodia’s continued growth strategy. In June, Zodia Custody partnered with 21Shares to provide custody services for exchange-traded and physically-backed crypto products in Switzerland and Europe.

Standard Chartered has a majority stake in Zodia Custody, along with Northern Trust, SBI Holdings and National Australia Bank Ltd. among its donors.

In 2023, Zodia Markets, the crypto brokerage arm of SC, obtained its registration as a Virtual Asset Services Provider (VASP) with the Irish central bank. The company had already obtained similar authorizations in the United Kingdom and Abu Dhabi.

With its registration in Ireland, Zodia Markets now has an authorized entity within the European Union as the bloc prepares for the full rollout of its Crypto-Asset Markets (MiCA) regulation. Once MiCA comes into force by the end of 2024, entities licensed in any member state will, in essence, be able to operate more easily across the bloc.