Appold Market Watch - Week ending 22 May 2026

Market Update & Industry News - Week ending 22 May 2026

🔷 Standard Chartered announced that its non-binding offer to acquire Zodia Custody, a digital asset custodian backed by SC Ventures, has been accepted. The acquisition will see Zodia Custody’s regulated custody activities integrated into Standard Chartered’s existing digital asset custody business. Meanwhile, Zodia Custody will separate its institutional digital asset infrastructure platform business, which provides white-label SaaS technology, and transfer all assets related to an independent entity, Zodia Solutions, to be set up under SC Ventures.

Appold View: Given SC Ventures’ incubation of Zodia Custody, this could be seen less as an acquisition and more as a strategic reorganisation, allowing Standard Chartered to fully capitalise on growing demand for bank-grade custody infrastructure from recognised institutional parties. 

🔷 The European Commission has begun a consultation on the functionality of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, which was enacted in 2023 and went fully live in December 2024. The Commission is seeking public and industry stakeholder feedback on MiCA until 31st August.

Appold View: Given the rapid pace of change in digital asset markets and the international regulatory landscape since MiCA was first developed, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Commission is now seeking feedback on MiCA’s durability. That said, the desire to hear from the industry is an encouraging sign of openness to adapting to MiCA if necessary. 

🔷 USDT stablecoin issuer Tether.io has acquired SoftBank Group’s stake in Bitcoin treasury company, Twenty One Capital. Tether purchased SoftBank’s roughly 26% stake in the NYSE-listed company for an undisclosed amount. Tether, alongside SoftBank and others, was already a co-founder of Twenty One Capital and had contributed the largest share of Bitcoin to the company’s initial treasury when it launched in April 2025.

Appold View: Tether’s consolidation of control over Twenty One Capital comes amid significant difficulties for Bitcoin treasury firms. The end of SoftBank’s involvement in the company's governance reportedly reflects Tether’s desire to expand into broader Bitcoin-native financial infrastructure.

🔷 The London-listed IG Group announced plans to launch digital asset trading services in Europe. IG, which introduced spot digital asset trading for UK retail customers a year ago, using Uphold technology, is now broadening its digital asset offering to the wider European market by leveraging the infrastructure of digital asset exchange Bitpanda, which holds MiCA licenses in Germany and Malta.

Appold View: By leveraging Bitpanda's already MiCA-compliant infrastructure, IG can rapidly expand its digital asset offering in Europe without building complex systems from scratch, while still benefiting from its institutional brand appeal.

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