Zodia, Crypto Firm Owned by Standard Chartered, Debuts in Hong Kong
- Crypto firm Zodia has debuted its services in Hong Kong, confirmed CEO Julian Sawyer in a statement.
- The firm is partly owned by Standard Chartered, along with Northern Trust and Japan’s SBI Holdings.
- It has acquired regulatory approval to operate in Singapore, Australia, and Japan in the recent months.
- The firm plans to expand aggressively in the Asia-Pacific region, and Hong Kong is the last stop.
Zodia, a crypto security firm owned by London, United Kingdom-based multinational bank Standard Chartered, has officially debuted in Hong Kong, according to a report. Interestingly, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China has become a budding land for blockchain-focused businesses and crypto firms due to favorable policies.
In a statement provided to CNBC, Zodia confirmed that it had started its services in Hong Kong, adding that it plans to expand operations in the Asia-Pacific region, outside of the United Kingdom. It is important to note that the crypto firm was founded in 2020 and is partly owned by Standard Chartered, along with Northern Trust and Japan’s SBI Holdings. It allows financial institutions to store their crypto securely.
Julian Sawyer, CEO of Zodia, stated that the crypto climate in Hong Kong is mostly driven by institutional investors rather than retail investors, which makes the SAR an ideal region for its operations. Sawyer said that “the Hong Kong government and the regulators see digital assets as the future and also want Hong Kong to be a hub.”
Zodia has plans for aggressive expansions in the APAC region and recently opened offices in Japan, Singapore, and Australia. Interestingly, according to Sawyer, Hong Kong is the last stop for his company in the Asia-Pacific region.
“What we’re seeing is there are absolutely clients in all of those four markets who want to do things,” Sawyer added. “We also see a lot of other clients and prospects outside those four jurisdictions that want to come in on the institutional side.”
Hong Kong has become the home of many crypto companies, including Zodia. Recently, crypto exchange OKX stated that it had plans to get licensed to operate in the region by 2024. The firm is currently negotiating with banks in Hong Kong while waiting to receive its license. On the other hand, Gate Group also announced a new digital asset trading platform in the SAR called Gate.HK, which went live on May 23.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
