Zodia Markets, the Standard Chrtered-backed digital asset platform enabling institutional capital through stablecoins, has raised $18.25 million in a Series A funding round, as demand for real-time wholesale trading, settlement and cross-border movement via stablecoins skyrockets.
The raise was led by Pharsalus Capital, a New York head-quartered venture capital firm, with participation from Circle Ventures, The Operating Group, XVC Tech, Token Bay Capital, Human Capital and other strategic investors.
Founded in 2021, Zodia Markets has been backed from inception by SC Ventures, the innovation unit of Standard Chartered Bank, and OSL Group, Asia’s leading digital asset company.
Usman Ahmad, co-founder and CEO comments, “This raise is an endorsement of our strategy, vision and execution, but more than that, reflects the conviction of globally respected investors who recognise both the complexity of this market and the scale of what we’re building.
"Institutional capital shouldn’t have to wait for banking hours or be held back by manual workarounds. Our heritage means we’re in a unique position to reengineer traditional foreign exchange capital flows with real time stablecoin settlement across borders.”
The firm supports over 20 fiat currencies and more than 70 digital assets, including USD and non-USD stablecoins. Ahmad says the financing will be directed twoards the firm’s continuing geographic expansion and support for stablecoin-based payment orchestration.