Julian Sawyer on institutional custody
From How Institutions Secure Digital Assets | Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer · · LilaMax Media
“Zodia was created by Standard Chartered about 6 years ago on the premise that the future was the blockchain. Custody is a foundation. So, if we can store your assets safe, then everything can evolve from there. And then they also realized that they couldn't do it within the bank. This is too innovative. It is too forward-looking. So, we created a venture business to be able to hold your digital assets and be able to work with that. We have a number of other shareholders including Northern Trust. And then therefore we're very much about being owned by the banks and used by the banks which I think is a very different maturity than you have from a cryptonative organization.”
On , Julian Sawyer, CEO at Zodia Custody, spoke about institutional custody during How Institutions Secure Digital Assets | Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer on LilaMax Media.
About Julian Sawyer
Julian Sawyer, CEO of Zodia Custody, appeared on the Markets on Chain series from the New York Stock Exchange in April 2026 and in a separate episode from June 2025. He described Zodia as a venture created by Standard Chartered about six years ago on the premise that "the future was the blockchain," adding that the firm is "owned by the banks and used by the banks," which he characterized as a different maturity from crypto-native organizations. Sawyer stated that the GENIUS Act and regulatory clarity in the U.S. have provided "reassurance to financial institutions in America that actually this is a future," and he noted that the U.S. has a legal definition of a qualified custodian, which he said he has advocated for other regions to adopt. Sawyer expressed a view that the industry should "stop talking about the blockchain" as a separate topic and instead focus on how the technology can improve financial services, such as making payments quicker, enabling cross-border transactions, and supporting tokenization of real-world assets. He said that digital assets include stablecoins and tokenization, which he described as "mainstream financial services" requiring an understanding of risk and compliance. Sawyer emphasized that the industry should solve problems for consumers and corporates in moving money, managing money, borrowing, and lending, with an emphasis on inclusion, speed, efficiency, and cost.