Zodia Custody has secured a payment institution license from Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, enabling it to provide regulated custody and transfer services for Electronic Money Tokens, or stablecoins, across the European Union.

The approval adds to Zodia Custody’s existing MiCA license and extends its institutional digital asset offering as stablecoins gain a larger role in settlement, liquidity, and treasury operations, the company said in a statement shared with The Block on Tuesday. 

Zodia Custody said the two licences together remove structural barriers and counterparty risks associated with fragmented service providers. The ability to custody and transfer Electronic Money Tokens, the company said, will become a baseline requirement for digital asset infrastructure providers. 

Launched in 2020, Zodia Custody is an institutional-focused digital asset platform backed by shareholders including Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, Emirates NBD, and National Australia Bank. 

Bloomberg reported in April that Standard Chartered was considering a takeover of Zodia Custody to bring the crypto custodian's operations in-house. On May 18, the bank saidits non-binding offer had been accepted, with Zodia's regulated custody activities set to be integrated into Standard Chartered's digital asset custody business.

The Luxembourg approval adds to regulatory authorizations and permissions held by Zodia Custody in the UK, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, per the statement.