Standard Chartered to Offer Crypto Custody for 21Shares as Traditional Firms Increase Crypto Involvement

Quick Breakdown

• Standard Chartered is now the digital asset custodian for 21Shares, expanding its participation in institutional crypto services.
• 21Shares will rely on the bank’s regulated Luxembourg custody unit to support secure, compliant asset management.
• The move strengthens existing ties, as Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody already manages 21Shares’ crypto assets.

Standard Chartered Named 21Shares Custodian

Standard Chartered has now been formally named the digital asset custodian for 21Shares, one of the biggest issuers of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) worldwide. The bank announced this new partnership at a time when major financial institutions are steadily bringing crypto onramp services into their traditional offerings.

Standard Chartered press release. Source: Standard Chartered

Margaret Harwood-Jones, who leads Standard Chartered’s Global Financing and Securities Services division, stated that the partnership expands the bank’s reach into the fast-evolving digital asset space. She framed the deal as a way to bring institutional-grade safety and compliance to 21Shares’ crypto products.

From 21Shares’ side, Mandy Chiu, their Global Head of Product Development, said working with Standard Chartered marks a “milestone” for offering institutional infrastructure in crypto.

She highlighted the key strengths the bank brings, explaining that as one of the most trusted financial institutions in the world, Standard Chartered has deep knowledge in cross-border banking, risk management, and custody. She said their support improves 21Shares’ ability to serve institutional clients by offering transparent access to digital assets without the need to buy crypto directly.

Under this agreement, 21Shares will rely on Standard Chartered’s custody unit in Luxembourg. This entity is registered with Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, and is a core part of the bank’s broader digital asset strategy.

The service will deliver a stronger custody infrastructure to 21Shares while improving their security standards, compliance posture, and cross-border asset handling. Previously, 21Shares used Zodia Custody, a crypto custodian co-founded by Standard Chartered and Northern Trust, a major asset servicing institution that manages trillions globally.

Zodia Custody and Institutional Infrastructure

Zodia Custody plays an important role as an institutional bridge into crypto. It has a coordinated regulatory presence across several regions. It is registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI)as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), and Luxembourg’s CSSF. The registrations keep their operations aligned with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets rules.

To increase surveillance for on-chain and off-chain activity, Zodia uses Solidus Labs, whose tools help detect suspicious movement and strengthen financial crime monitoring.

For staking, Zodia integrates real-time blockchain feeds from Beacon Chain, giving institutional clients transparency on Ethereum validator performance and network conditions.

To reduce counterparty risks during settlements, Zodia teamed up with Algoz to deploy the Zodia Interchange system. This setup lets counterparties settle transfers off-venue, creating a safer path than clearing trades directly on public order books.

These integrations improve Zodia’s operational stack by supporting stronger AML controls, clearer staking analytics, and safer off-venue settlement. Zodia’s infrastructure also provides several practical features that have shaped its role in digital asset markets. Its cold storage is fully air-gapped, keeping private keys separated from online access points and protecting them from cyberattacks.

Assets are held in a segregated crypto wallet to lower counterparty risks. This is especially important for physically backed crypto ETPs. Its system supports fast withdrawals and redemptions from cold storage. This allows authorized participants to keep ETP prices aligned with their underlying assets, which improves liquidity and execution quality for institutional trades.

The firm’s posture aligns directly with MiCAR’s harmonized standards for custody and asset safeguarding, offering 21Shares a regulated pathway into the broader European market through a compliant CASP structure.

Expanding Product Access and Market Reach

21Shares operates in a rapidly growing ETP landscape shaped by rising investor demand and new product releases. The company expanded its lineup with Europe’s only Dogecoin ETP, which launched in April. It later introduced the 21Shares 2x Long Dogecoin ETF (TXXD), listed on NASDAQ in November.

This leveraged ETF offers twice the daily exposure to Dogecoin’s price, providing traders with amplified short-term access to one of the most volatile meme coins in a regulated and transparent framework. Its design puts leveraged crypto exposure into an exchange-traded format that traders can access with a regular brokerage account.

What makes TXXD stand out is not only the leverage but the way it converts high-volatility speculation into a product governed by the same structure and safeguards that apply to traditional ETFs. Combined with Dogecoin’s cultural appeal, the ETF reaches a wide audience, unusual for derivatives tied to alternative coins.

This wave of growth comes as 21Shares merges with FalconX, a global digital asset prime broker known for institutional-grade trading, derivatives access, large liquidity pools, and high-volume execution across world markets.

FalconX supports services such as credit access, risk-managed execution, settlement solutions, and tens of billions in monthly trading activity. Under the FalconX umbrella, 21Shares gains a backend engine that enhances product liquidity, improves operational efficiency, and accelerates its ability to develop specialized digital-asset ETPs.

Supported by this expanding ecosystem and FalconX’s institutional network, the direct partnership between 21Shares and Standard Chartered places both firms at a strategic point within a financial system that is becoming more integrated with traditional frameworks and institutional rules.

Conclusion

Leaders from both organizations emphasized the shared vision behind the partnership. Margaret Harwood-Jones noted that the bank’s role as custodian “allows us to extend our expertise into the fast-evolving digital asset ecosystem and support digital-asset-linked products, providing institutional investors with the assurance they require.”

Mandy Chiu added that the partnership “strengthens our ability to meet the evolving needs of institutional investors, providing compliant and transparent access to the crypto market.”

Their remarks underscore a unified mission to shape how crypto-linked financial products are created, distributed, and governed as digital assets move deeper into regulated global markets.