SBI Holdings and Standard Chartered-Backed Zodia Custody Exit Japan Joint Venture: Report

Zodia Custody, backed by Standard Chartered, has ended its Japan joint venture with SBI Holdings two years after launch, Bloomberg reported. The unit, called SBI Zodia Custody, was 51% owned by SBI and 49% by Zodia. Talks with Japan’s Financial Services Agency over a local registration never progressed.

“This is a strategic alignment between SBI and ourselves as a mutual decision that we have other priorities and they have other priorities,” Zodia chief executive Julian Sawyer commented for Bloomberg.

Challenges in Japan’s Market

Japan remains a difficult entry point for foreign crypto firms due to strict oversight. The FSA aims to encourage blockchain innovation but has kept rules tight after scandals, including Mt. Gox’s collapse and the $300 million breach at DMM Bitcoin in 2024.

SBI said the closure reflects a shift in its digital strategy. “This dissolution does not represent a retreat in either our custody business or our strategy in Asia,” spokesman Kosuke Kitamura also told the media publication. He called it a “proactive decision aimed at pursuing group-wide synergies with greater speed under our digital ecosystem.”

Zodia Custody said the decision does not affect its wider Asian strategy. Sawyer noted the firm has “a finite amount of resources available globally.” The company recently expanded in the Middle East through the acquisition of Tungsten Custody Solutions in the UAE.

Zodia’s Global Moves

In 2023, Zodia Custody announced that it had formed the joint venture with SBI Digital Asset Holdings as a subsidiary of Japanese financial services group SBI Holdings. The unit sought to establish a crypto custody business for institutional investors in Japan.

It also aimed to provide secure storage solutions for digital assets, targeting institutions seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies but deterred by the lack of custody offerings that meet traditional finance standards.

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Meanwhile, Japanese online trading giant SBI Securities recently launched cryptocurrency contracts for difference (CFDs), the broker’s first crypto product offering.

The new service allows trading on several major digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin. The platform also enables investors to trade crypto CFDs over the weekend.

For liquidity, SBI Securities partnered with B2C2, an electronic market maker in digital assets. The broader SBI Group holds a 90% stake in B2C2, which acts as the primary liquidity provider for the new offering.