Standard Chartered-Backed Zodia Markets to Buy Elwood Trading Desk

• Elwood will focus on its trading technology software-as-a-service products and services.
• Zodia Markets’ $50 million-$60 million a day OTC business expects to “increase daily volumes significantly,” as a result of the deal.

Zodia Markets, a cryptocurrency-focused trading firm backed by the venture arm of Standard Chartered, said it is buying the over-the-counter trading division of Elwood Technologies, confirming media reports the unit was on the block and sale talks were in process.

After offloading the business, Elwood, which was championed by crypto-friendly billionaire Alan Howard, will focus on its trading technology software-as-a-service (SaaS) products and services, the company said on Monday.

Confidence is running high in the institutional crypto space, with regulated bank-backed projects and qualified custodians building out a base of trading infrastructure to meet the demands of traditional capital markets.

Zodia Markets’ OTC business now handles trading volumes of as much as $60 million a day, according to CEO Usman Ahmad. He did not share details of how much customer volume is likely to come Zodia’s way from the deal, but said via email that the firm expects to “increase daily volumes significantly.” He also declined to share financial terms of the deal.

Standard Chartered, which was reported recently to be entering the crypto spot trading space, is a backer (through the SC Ventures business) of both Zodia Markets and its sister operation, Zodia Custody.

Usman said the deal would not overlap with Standard Chartered’s crypto trading aspirations. “This transaction is an enabler for Zodia Markets’ growth and doesn’t overlap with what Standard Chartered may or may not do directly in trading spot crypto,” he said.

Crypto markets, coming out of a long bear market, remain choppy. Elwood CEO Chris Lawn said the decision to sell the OTC business was not about a bull or bear market, but instead an illustration of how the digital assets industry is maturing, with new entrants demanding institutional-grade SaaS solutions.

“Increased competition and M&A will force companies to ask tough questions as to who and what they really are,” Lawn said in an email. “For us, the answer is we are a technology company, hence the strategic decision to focus all of our efforts on this part of our business and to sell the OTC business.”