The CSSF approval adds to the firm's MiCA authorization and broadens its institutional offering as stablecoins take on a bigger role in settlement, liquidity, and treasury operations.
Zodia Custody has obtained a payment institution license from Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, or CSSF (Luxembourg financial regulator), allowing it to offer regulated custody and transfer services for Electronic Money Tokens, or stablecoins, across the European Union. The company said the approval builds on its existing MiCA (EU crypto-asset rulebook) license and expands its institutional digital asset services at a time when stablecoins are becoming more important for settlement, liquidity, and treasury operations. Zodia Custody said the two licenses together reduce structural barriers and counterparty risk tied to fragmented providers, and that the ability to custody and move Electronic Money Tokens will become a baseline requirement for digital asset infrastructure providers. Founded in 2020, the institutional-focused platform is backed by shareholders including Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, Emirates NBD, and National Australia Bank. The new Luxembourg authorization adds to permissions the firm already holds in the UK, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. The development comes after Bloomberg reported in April that Standard Chartered was considering a takeover, and after the bank said on May 18 that its non-binding offer had been accepted, with Zodia's regulated custody activities set to be integrated into Standard Chartered's digital asset custody business.