Zodia
Custody,
a
cryptocurrency
storage
provider
backed
by
Standard
Chartered
(STAN),
is
joining
Ripple-owned
custody
specialist
Metaco’s
network,
which
is
designed
to
handle
the
safekeeping
and
settlement
of
digital
assets
for
institutions
around
the
world,
the
firms
said
on
Monday.
Crypto
storage
and
settlement
networks,
where
the
assets
remain
in
custody
to
remove
counterparty
risk,
are
becoming
more
popular,
particularly
in
the
wake
of
last
year’s
blow-ups
and
collapses
of
firms
like
FTX.
As
this
infrastructure
component
gradually
evolves
to
resemble
the
way
things
are
done
in
traditional
finance,
different
types
of
networks
will
appear,
said
Zodia
Custody
CEO
Julian
Sawyer.
Examples
include
the
Copper
Clear
Loop
system,
which
recently
joined
forces
with
BitGo’s
Go
network,
or
the
self-custody
off-exchange
systems
created
by
Fireblocks.
Zodia
itself
offers
an
Interchange
network.
The
aim
of
integrating
with
Metaco’s
network
is
to
offer
global
sub-custody,
banking
parlance
for
when
an
institution
contracts
another
custodian
to
hold
assets
for
it,
Sawyer
said
in
an
interview
with
CoinDesk.
“I
think
of
this
as
the
third
generation
of
crypto
custody,
where
multiple
custodians
are
linked
together,”
he
said.
“For
example,
a
client
in
Brazil,
who
is
a
custodian,
may
want
to
store
some
assets
in
the
UK,
and
they’re
not
currently
in
the
UK.
So
they
could
use
us
as
their
sub-custodian
and
use
our
regulatory
permissions,
etc.
I
think
the
multiple
networks
that
are
out
there
are
really
key
in
terms
of
linking
custodians
together,
and
linking
custodians
to
exchanges
and
venues
in
a
compliant
manner.”
Zodia
Custody,
which
is
currently
registered
in
the
U.K.,
Ireland,
Luxembourg,
recently
set
up
shop
in
Singapore.
While
Zodia
Markets,
which
is
also
backed
by
Standard
Chartered,
was
recently
granted
approval
in
principle
to
operate
as
an
over-the-counter
(OTC)
crypto
broker-dealer
in
Abu
Dhabi.
Metaco
recently
signed
up
HSBC
for
its
custody
tech
services.