Bloomberg reported on July 9, citing persons familiar with the subject, that the agreement between Zodia Markets and Elwood Capital—which provides over-the-counter crypto trading and settlement services—is expected to close before the end of this month.

One individual familiar with the agreement claimed that Zodia Market’s acquisition of Elwood Capital would give the company licenses as a virtual asset supplier and investment business in Jersey, an island British crown dependency off the coast of Northern France.

This would apparently support Zodia’s continuous efforts to concentrate on OTC settlement services.

Launched by Standard Chartered in 2021, Zodia Markets is a crypto exchange formed as a joint venture between Hong Kong’s BC Technology Group and the bank’s venture capital affiliate.

Early this year, it closed its operations because of strong demand for cryptocurrency products, the CEO of the company, Usman Ahmad, told Bloomberg in June.

In February, Howard, the billionaire hedge fund manager at Brevan Howard Asset Management, listed some of his private interests in cryptocurrency startups for sale. He plans to reinvest the profits into Brevan Howard Digital, the crypto affiliate of the hedge fund.

Standard Chartered has been trying to increase its presence in the crypto market. According to reports on June 21, the bank might be considering opening a Bitcoin and Ethereum trading department.

Should it be started, Standard Chartered would be among the first worldwide banks to engage in spot trading of cryptocurrencies.

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