21Shares taps Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Custody to hold crypto

British crypto custodian Zodia Custody has become the custodian provider for 21Shares for physically backed ETP products in Switzerland.

Zodia Custody, a British crypto custodian backed by Standard Chartered and SBI Holdings, has been selected as the custodian provider for 21Shares’ physically backed exchange-traded products (ETPs) in Switzerland.

In a blog announcement on Tuesday, the London-headquartered firm stated it would provide custody services for “physically backed ETP products in Switzerland and the wider European market” in response to a “continuing sharp increase in ETP demand.”

21Shares’ head of financial product development Mandy Chiu says the collaboration marks a “significant milestone” in the firm’s commitment to providing “top-tier investment opportunities,” highlighting Zodia’s “cold storage infrastructure and streamlined compliance solutions.”

In addition to Zodia, 21Shares also appears to be using custodian services from other providers. As indicated on the firm’s website, it also relies on Coinbase Custody and Copper, another British crypto custodian founded in 2018 by Russian-born Dmitry Tokarev.

Crypto.news reached out to 21Shares to clarify whether the firm is still using the services of both Coinbase Custody and Copper, and we’ll update the article if we hear back.

The partnership comes just a week after Zodia Custody secured funding from NAB Ventures, the venture capital arm of National Australia Bank (NAB), one of the largest financial institutions in Australia. Although the funding size wasn’t disclosed, NAB Ventures managing director Amanda Angelini emphasized that the decision to invest in Zodia Custody was based on a “range of factors including their innovative approach, institution-grade safety and strong work with regulators.”

Founded in 2020 by Standard Chartered in association with Northern Trust, Zodia Custody has raised a total of $44 million from five investors, according to PitchBook data.