Standard Chartered unit SBI Holdings to invest $100 million to support global crypto startups across seed to Series C funding rounds

Standard Chartered’s innovation and venture arm SC Ventures and Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings are setting up a $100 million digital asset investment company in the United Arab Emirates to back crypto and broader digital asset startups from seed through Series C stages. The joint venture, first announced in late 2023 and detailed in subsequent legal and industry disclosures, is structured to make strategic, minority investments globally across the digital asset ecosystem. The new vehicle will target companies building market infrastructure, risk and compliance tools, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, tokenization platforms, consumer payments solutions, and Metaverse-related projects. SC Ventures plans to leverage its experience through existing digital asset businesses Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, as well as prior fintech investments such as Ripple and Metaco, while SBI adds its broader fintech and Web3 investment footprint. The move underscores the continued institutionalization of crypto and digital assets, highlights the UAE’s role as a regional hub for digital asset activity, and signals ongoing interest from large, regulated financial groups in infrastructure and compliance-oriented plays rather than purely speculative tokens. Separately from the joint venture, SBI Holdings is also preparing a 100 billion yen (around $660 million) fund focused on Web3, AI and related technologies, with backing interest from major Japanese financial institutions such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Nippon Life Insurance, and Daiwa Securities Group. This broader capital commitment positions SBI as a significant allocator to digital innovation globally and may create additional follow-on funding channels for successful projects emerging from the SC Ventures–SBI digital asset vehicle.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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