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Zodia Custody’s Abu Dhabi subsidiary can now hold digital securities for clients, after ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) approved a variation of its permission, Zodia announced on 12 October 2026. The approval covers Tungsten Custody Solutions Limited, which Zodia describes as its regional subsidiary and which operates as Zodia Abu Dhabi.
What was approved
The variation adds custody of digital securities to the subsidiary’s existing ADGM permission. Zodia says the approval will initially focus on tokenised money markets and gives it a route to tokenised traditional securities, including equities and fixed income. The target clients are banks and other financial institutions, including their treasury teams, as well as asset managers.
Richard Clark, chief executive of Zodia Custody, said,
“The approval means Zodia can offer bank-grade custody for tokenised securities as well as tokenised commodities in ADGM”. He said treasury teams at financial institutions already hold tokenised funds alongside stablecoins.
Phil Langton of Tungsten Custody Solutions said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the franchise to support the growing demand for tokenised funds in the region.”
Who owns Zodia Custody
Standard Chartered has been Zodia Custody’s majority shareholder since 2021, and the minority holders include Northern Trust, Emirates NBD, National Australia Bank and SBI Holdings. On 18 May the bank made a non-binding offer for the shares it doesn’t own, which the other shareholders accepted. Zodia’s custody activities are due to be merged into Standard Chartered’s own digital asset custody business. The announcement doesn’t say how that merger affects the ADGM subsidiary.
Why it matters
The tokenised-deposit moves covered here recently, from Citi, HSBC and Mashreq, concern how money moves. Custody is the separate layer that decides where institutions can safely hold the tokenised funds and securities themselves. An FSRA-approved custodian backed by a global bank gives institutions in Abu Dhabi a regulated place to do that.
What’s next
Zodia hasn’t given a launch date, named a first client or said which tokenised funds or issuers it will hold. It also hasn’t said whether tokenised commodities, which Clark mentions, are covered by this permission or are a separate plan.
FAQs
What is a Variation of Permission?
A change to the activities a firm is permitted to carry on under its existing Financial Services Permission in ADGM. Here it adds custody of digital securities to Tungsten Custody Solutions’ licence.
What are digital securities?
Securities issued or represented as digital tokens, such as tokenised funds, equities or bonds. Under ADGM’s framework, a token with the characteristics of a security is regulated as a security.
Who owns Zodia Custody?
Standard Chartered has been the majority shareholder since 2021. Minority holders include Northern Trust, Emirates NBD, National Australia Bank and SBI Holdings, and Standard Chartered agreed in May to buy them out.
What does custody of tokenised money market funds mean?
Holding the tokens that represent units in a money market fund on behalf of clients, with safekeeping and record-keeping handled by a regulated custodian.
Editor’s Take: The FSRA has added custody of digital securities to Zodia’s Abu Dhabi permission, with tokenised money markets as the first use, and no client or date has been named. The strongest part is the regulatory step itself: a bank-backed custodian now holds an ADGM permission for the asset class institutions are starting to use for cash management. The least clear part is scope. Clark’s quote includes tokenised commodities, and the announcement doesn’t say whether the permission covers them. Standard Chartered’s plan to merge Zodia’s custody business into its own leaves open how the ADGM subsidiary is affected.