Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer steps down, becomes adviser

Julian Sawyer is stepping away from the CEO seat at Zodia Custody, the London-based digital asset custodian backed by Standard Chartered’s venture arm SC Ventures. Sawyer, who has led the firm since January 2023, is transitioning into an advisory role as the company undergoes one of the more significant structural overhauls in institutional crypto custody this year. Standard Chartered announced in May 2026 that it would acquire Zodia Custody’s regulated custody business outright, folding it into the bank’s Financing and Securities Services division. That deal has already cleared shareholder and noteholder approval, with signing expected by the end of June 2026 and full completion targeted for late August. What’s actually happening to Zodia The restructuring effectively splits Zodia Custody into two pieces. The regulated custody operations, the part that holds digital assets in cold storage for institutional clients, gets absorbed directly into Standard Chartered. The Zodia Custody brand retires after that integration. Zodia’s institutional digital asset infrastructure is being spun off as a new standalone entity called Zodia Solutions. SC Ventures will hold a majority stake in the ...