Investment firm Zodia Markets, an affiliate of Standard Chartered, raises $18.25 million in its Series A funding round, with Pharsalus Capital as the main investor.
In a significant move for the digital payments industry, Zodia Markets, a digital asset trading and brokerage services arm of Standard Chartered, has raised $18.25 million in a Series A round. Led by Pharsalus Capital, the funding round also saw participation from Circle Ventures, The Operating Group, XVC Tech, Token Bay Capital, and Human Capital.
This investment marks a pivotal moment in the development of stablecoin payments infrastructure, which is rapidly approaching broader adoption and integration into mainstream finance. With 2025 identified as a landmark year for adoption and transformation in the payments ecosystem, the industry is gearing up for a significant shift.
Stablecoins, digital tokens pegged primarily to the US dollar, are increasingly recognized as a transformative payments technology. They enable faster, cheaper, and more inclusive cross-border transactions than traditional banking systems. The infrastructure supporting stablecoin payments—including custody, liquidity management, regulatory compliance, and interoperability—is being actively enhanced by major financial institutions, technology providers, and industry consortia.
Zodia Markets, with its focus on institutional-grade stablecoin payments infrastructure, is at the forefront of this evolution. The company plans to use the fresh capital to enhance its infrastructure, launch new stablecoin solutions for institutional capital, and expand its services globally.
Usman Ahmad, CEO of Zodia Markets, commented on the company's announcement, stating that institutional capital should not have to wait for banking hours or be held back by manual workarounds. He emphasized that Zodia Markets is in a unique position to reengineer traditional foreign exchange capital flows with real-time stablecoin settlement across borders.
The company has already enabled minting and burning of USDC and EURC, in partnership with Circle, and offers non-USD stablecoin pairs, including those pegged to EUR, GBP, JPY, SGD, TRY, and more in foreign exchange (FX) markets.
Zodia Markets' entry into the stablecoin payments business is noteworthy, as it joins a growing list of both mainstream and crypto companies revamping or entering this sector. The announcement comes just over a week after President Trump signed into law the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act on July 18.
With this funding, Standard Chartered's stake in Zodia Markets falls to 60%, down from 84%. However, the specific countries where Zodia Markets plans to expand its stablecoin payments service remain undisclosed.
As the stablecoin payments infrastructure evolves towards mature, regulated, and interoperable systems capable of supporting mainstream financial services, 2025 promises to be a year of significant adoption and transformation in the payments ecosystem.
- "The funding raised by Zodia Markets, a move spearheaded by technological advancements and financial investments, will be utilized to develop advanced stablecoin solutions and integrate them into mainstream finance, marking a significant news event in the realm of finance and technology."
- "With the infrastructure for stablecoin payments continuously improving, Zodia Markets, having already enabled the minting and burning of USDC and EURC, is preparing to expand its services globally, symbolizing a crucial step in the technology's broader adoption and transformation in the payments industry by 2025."
