Standard Chartered’s crypto security unit, Zodia Custody Limited, is coming to Hong Kong. The institutional cryptocurrency custodian firm is launching its services in the region Zodia said has a market where the demand for digital currencies is driven by organizations instead of retail customers.

Expansion Push in the Asian Region

As per CNBC, the start of its operation in Hong Kong is the latest effort of the Standard Cahtered-owned Zodia to enter the Asia-Pacific market. The crypto firm added that the region is the ideal place to offer its services.

“The Hong Kong government and the regulators see digital assets as the future and also want Hong Kong to be a hub,” Zodia’s chief executive officer, Julian Sawyer, stated.

The company has been working aggressively to bring its business to Asia. In fact, through its continuous endeavors, it opened its business in Singapore, Japan, and Australia this year. Zodia’s CEO revealed that Hong Kong is their last stop in the Asia-Pacific territory.

“What we are seeing is there are absolutely clients in all of those four markets who want to do things,” Sawyer said. “We also see a lot of other clients and prospects outside those four jurisdictions that want to come in on the institutional side.”

VASP License in Ireland

Meanwhile, before the announcement of its service launch in Hong Kong, Zodia, which is also partly owned by Northern Trust and Japan’s SBI Holdings, was able to secure its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Central Bank of Ireland.

CoinDesk previously reported that Zodia was granted permission to operate in the country this month after receiving a similar license in the United Kingdom last year and in Abu Dhabi just last month.

In a press release, Zodia Markets Ireland and Head of Distribution’s chief, Michael Walsh, said, “VASP registration will act as a launchpad for the business to enter the EU, a market where we see significant opportunity and demand for our offering, and it paves the way for future MiCA authorization when the regulations are implemented.”

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