Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures, SBI Holdings launch crypto investment firm in UAE 

Image: Envato Elements, Dubai Panorama

SC Ventures, the venture arm owned by British multinational bank Standard Chartered, announced a joint venture with Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings, to establish a digital asset investment company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

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Fast Facts

• “The Digital Asset Joint Venture will be an important vehicle to explore the emerging digital asset ecosystem opportunities globally,” said Alex Manson, the chief executive officer of SC Ventures.
• The new investment company will be capitalized with US$100 million by the two parties, according to a press release shared with Forkast.

• The venture aims to invest in various digital asset firms, including market infrastructure developers, decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, consumer payments, risk and compliance tools and the metaverse.

• Standard Chartered’s crypto custody wing, Zodia Custody, launched in Hong Kong at the end of October.

• Zodia also launched its services for financial institutions in Singapore in early September, claiming to be the first bank-owned entity to provide institutional crypto custody services in the country. The firm also launched its services in Japan and Australia earlier this year.

• Standard Chartered is a London-headquartered multinational banking conglomerate founded in 1969 with over 653 branches and 83,000 employees worldwide.

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