NAB Invests in Zodia Custody

Zodia Custody has welcomed its fourth major investor after Standard Chartered, Northern Trust and SBI Holdings, with National Australia Bank (NAB) investing in the firm through its NAB Ventures arm.

The investment follows Zodia Custody establishing its Australian operations in late 2023, as part of the custodian’s plan to further extend its geographical reach and investment into the APAC region. Zodia says key immediate priorities include onboarding Australia’s home-grown digital asset exchanges. It adds that “many” of these exchanges are moving assets onto the Zodia Custody platform in preparation for stricter regulatory requirements expected to come into effect in 2025. Zodia Custody says is also priming itself to provide custody services to applicants of anticipated digital asset ETFs awaiting approval from the ASX.

“As a trusted financial institution, NAB is focused on ensuring the finance sector continues to provide simple, safe and secure services for Australians. This is particularly important in newer fields where technology continues to evolve quickly,” said Amanda Angelini, managing director, NAB Ventures. “NAB Venture’s investment in Zodia was based on a range of factors including their innovative approach, institution-grade safety and strong work with regulators. We look forward to seeing Zodia Custody drive further innovation in the digital assets space.”

Julian Sawyer, CEO of Zodia Custody, adds, “Incoming regulations will significantly change the landscape, similar to what we have seen in Hong Kong and Japan. This likely includes the segregation of assets, and requirements to hold them in cold storage – areas we are already way ahead of the curve on, having built our custody model on these principles while ensuring real-time access to move at the speed of the market and the highest levels of security.”