Standard Chartered Plans Singapore Launch of Institutional Digital-Asset Custody Service

Standard Chartered Bank is preparing to roll out a digital-asset custody offering in Singapore aimed at institutional clients and accredited investor corporate customers, according to CoinDesk. The service is expected to cover selected cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, and will be delivered through the bank's existing financing and securities services platform, subject to regulatory requirements. The bank has not announced a launch date and has not specified which digital assets will be supported in Singapore. It also has not clarified whether the product will extend beyond custody to include settlement and transfer functions. Standard Chartered already provides digital-asset custody in the UAE, Luxembourg and Hong Kong, and has been an early supporter of institutional custodian Zodia Custody. The Singapore initiative is positioned as part of the bank's broader investment in institutional digital-asset infrastructure, including integrating crypto custody into its securities services and broader asset-services business. The bank said its financing and securities operations will serve as the operational base for the new custody capability, supporting multiple stages of the asset lifecycle from custody to services following tokenization. Tokenization refers to representing traditional financial assets in digital form on a blockchain network, which can require both secure storage of the digital tokens and recordkeeping and servicing linked to the underlying assets. Patrick Lee, CEO of Standard Chartered Singapore and CEO for ASEAN and South Asia, said Singapore's financial innovation ecosystem is driving rising institutional demand for trusted digital-asset solutions, and that as activity grows the market needs reliable infrastructure to support the transfer, custody and servicing of tokenized assets. The announcement did not reference any retail availability. The Singapore plans come as Standard Chartered advances its deal to acquire Zodia Custody's regulated custody business. In May 2026, after Zodia's shareholders and noteholders accepted a nonbinding offer, Standard Chartered agreed to acquire the regulated custody unit. Previous reporting by crypto.news said the transaction would fold Zodia's regulated custody business into Standard Chartered's financing and securities services division, alongside plans to create an independent platform, Zodia Solutions, under SC Ventures to provide digital-asset infrastructure to banks and other financial institutions. The deal remains subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Standard Chartered and Northern Trust co-founded Zodia Custody in 2020. Other investors include SBI Holdings, Emirates NBD and National Australia Bank. In June 2026, Zodia Custody obtained a payment institution license from Luxembourg's Commission for the Supervision of the Financial Sector, adding to its existing MiCA license and enabling regulated custody and transfer services for stablecoins across the European Union. Zodia has said combining the licenses would help institutions manage electronic money tokens and other crypto assets within a regulated framework, while reducing operational complexity and counterparty risk that can arise when custody and transfer services are split across providers. Zodia holds regulatory licenses in multiple markets, including Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, Australia and the UK.