Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Markets in talks to acquire Alan Howard-linked investment company: report

Zodia Markets, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered, is in acquisition talks with Jersey-based over-the-counter digital asset trading and settlement services business Elwood Capital Management, according to Bloomberg . The deal, which would represent Standard Chartered’s latest foray into crypto, is reportedly expected to close this month.

Standard Chartered, the U.K.-based multinational bank, announced last month it is building a spot trading desk for bitcoin and ether as part of its foreign exchange business, citing demand from institutional investors. The firm also launched a blockchain-powered bond trading platform called Libeara .

Acquiring Elwood Capital would give Zodia Markets virtual asset service provider licenses in the self-governing British island nation of Jersey as well as a functioning OTC trading services business. Elwood is backed by billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard, who co-founded Elwood Technologies in 2018.

Elwood Technologies raised $70 million from investors including Goldman Sachs and Dawn Capital in 2022. It operated at a loss of $16.9 million in the previous fiscal year, Bloomberg reported.

Standard Chartered’s venture capital arm co-founded Zodia Markets in 2021 with Hong Kong’s BC Technology Group. It launched a crypto exchange in 2022 that was shuttered earlier this year.

On Tuesday, sister firm Zodia Custody — backed by the likes of SBI Holdings, Northern Trust, and National Australia Bank — announced a partnership with decentralized lending startup Maple Finance. This follows an earlier deal with 21Shares to provide custody services for physically backed crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the European market.