Zodia Custody and Parity Technologies have entered a long-term partnership intended to make the Polkadot network easier for financial institutions to access. The move combines, according to a Zodia press release, Parity’s role in developing Polkadot with Zodia’s regulated custody infrastructure, bringing traditional compliance standards into a blockchain environment that is otherwise permissionless.
Zodia Custody is backed by major banks — Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank and Emirates NBD — and is registered as a virtual asset service provider with the UK’s FCA, Ireland’s CBI and Luxembourg’s CSSF. These credentials form the basis for the partnership’s first step: offering regulated custody for assets in the Polkadot ecosystem. The intention is to give institutions a familiar level of oversight when handling digital assets tied to the network.
A second phase will allow institutions to stake DOT, Polkadot’s native token, while keeping those assets in cold storage under Zodia’s control. This would let participants contribute to the network’s security without moving assets outside a regulated environment.
A shifting legal backdrop
The partnership lands shortly after the UK’s Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 came into force, recognising digital assets as personal property. While separate from the companies’ announcement, the new legal footing makes regulated custodians more central to institutional engagement, as they provide the structures needed for compliance and risk management.
Beyond custody and staking, Zodia and Parity plan research and development work to support institutional understanding and participation in the Polkadot ecosystem.
