Zodia Markets raises $18.25 million in Series A fundraise
Capital to accelerate international growth, stablecoin payment solutions, multi-asset trading products and regulated digital asset infrastructure.
Capital to accelerate international growth, stablecoin payment solutions, multi-asset trading products and regulated digital asset infrastructure.
Capital to accelerate international growth, stablecoin payment solutions, multi-asset trading products and regulated digital asset infrastructure.
London, Monday 28th July 2025 – Zodia Markets, the 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 by Usman Ahmad and Nick Philpott, 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.
The firm provides an institution-first combination of wholesale finance with the always-on performance of digital assets and has established itself as one of the leading innovators in stablecoin-enabled flows, especially across its multi-currency, geographic footprint.
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. Their participation signals confidence not just in our model, but in our role as a leader in reshaping and redefining wholesale capital movement.
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 next era of finance starts with us and we’re excited to have more support to execute our vision to reimagine the movement of money.”
Zodia Markets supports over 20 fiat currencies and more than 70 digital assets, including USD and non-USD stablecoins. This investment will support the firm’s continuing geographic expansion and support the growing capability of stablecoin-based payment orchestration. Additional institutional trading products will be developed to support cross-border stablecoin payment solutions, further reinforcing its position as a recognised market leader.
For more information about Zodia Markets and institutional trading solutions, please visit www.zodiamarkets.com
<End>
For media enquires please contact:
Emma Critchley-Lloyd
This story covers three topics. First, as markets evolve, they often see a wave of new entrants who are subject to lower regulatory requirements than the incumbents, sometimes known as ‘regulatory arbitrage’.
Cryptoasset markets are often thought of as innovative, which is true in some cases, but not all. Slow processes and regulation can certainly be frustrating, but market participants should always be careful to not be blinded by neophilia, or a love of novelty.
The Ethereum merge, completed in September, transitioned the blockchain’s consensus mechanism from an energy-intensive proof-of-work (POW) to a proof-of-stake (POS) protocol. This has reduced energy consumption by more than 99.9%.1
Zodia Markets is proud to announce its signing of the Armed Forces Covenant, demonstrating its commitment to treat fairly those who serve, or have served in the military, and their families, and emphasising the company’s dedication to fulfilling its social responsibilities.
Brian McGleenon 14 June 2024·4-min read BlackRock (BLK) is leading the charge in the mass tokenisation of real-world assets on blockchains, according to Zodia Markets Ireland chair Michael Walsh.
The deal will strengthen Zodia Markets’ over-the-counter business while allowing Elwood to conentrate on its software-as-a-service activities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to follow the strategy employed in approving spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds for spot Ethereum ETFs, starting with rejections and ultimately granting approval on the initial final deadline on May 23, according to Standard Chartered Bank.