National Australia Bank’s Venture Arm Backs Digital Asset Custodian, Zodia Custody, With Major Investment

National Australia Bank, one of the four largest banks in Australia, has made a significant investment in Zodia Custody, a digital asset custodian focusing primarily on institutional clients. The company announced today, June 19, 2024, that NAB Ventures, the Australian Bank’s venture capital arm, made a “substantial” investment but did not disclose the value.

NAB is now the second major Bank to invest in Zodia, joining Britain’s Standard Chartered. It also joins Japan’s SBI Holdings and America’s Northern Trust and becomes the fourth major investor in the platform.

This investment from NAB comes in the wake of the Bank’s decision to discontinue its stablecoin initiative, AUDN, due to insufficient customer demand. The move signals a strategic shift in focus towards crypto custody solutions. NAB Ventures cited Zodia’s innovative approach, robust security measures, and strong regulatory compliance as key reasons for their investment.

Zodia Custody’s CEO, Julian Sawyer, thanked the Bank for the move: “We are extremely grateful to NAB Ventures for their support in our vision to build a better institutional digital asset infrastructure. It’s a true vote of confidence. “

Sawyer also highlighted Australia’s evolving regulatory landscape, drawing parallels to recent changes in Hong Kong and Japan. “With the prospect of digital asset ETFs, Australia is set to enter an unprecedented period of innovation and adoption. We are here and ready to support institutions on that journey,” Sawyer asserted.

Notably, Zodia’s announcement coincides with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) approving the listing of a Van Eck spot Bitcoin ETF, marking a significant step in the country’s digital asset regulation process.

Meanwhile, the development is in line with Zodia Custody’s strategic expansion into Australia, which began last year by establishing local operations to serve institutional clients. During this period, Zodia collaborated with NAB on a proof-of-concept project to test the bank-grade credentials of the SAF3 platform, Zodia’s institutional-focused digital asset custody offering for the Australian market. At that time, Zodia Custody signed DigitalX as its first Australian client.

In recent months, Zodia Custody has also secured several high-profile clients, including Marathon Digital, further cementing its position in the digital asset custody space.

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