Singapore-based tokenization infrastructure company Libeara has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Zodia Markets (Jersey) Limited from the Zodia Markets group, adding a regulated distribution and execution business for international investors seeking access to tokenized assets.
Libeara said in an emailed statement on Friday that financial terms were not disclosed. Completion remains subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions. After the transaction closes, the Jersey entity is expected to be renamed Libeara (Jersey) Limited.
Deal awaits regulatory approval
Zodia Markets (Jersey) Limited conducts Investment Business, Class A, covering dealing in investments, and is supervised as a virtual asset service provider in Jersey, according to the announcement. Digital Jersey’s member directory separately describes the company as a Jersey-based regulated financial services business focused on digital asset trading, structured products, collateralized lending and tokenization.
The acquisition would give Libeara a regulated channel outside Singapore through which it can serve digital-native funds, corporate treasuries, family offices and other institutional investors. Libeara said the Jersey operation would support execution for investors seeking tokenized funds, bonds and other regulated real-world assets.
The transaction does not yet transfer control of the business. Regulatory approval is still required, and Libeara did not provide an expected completion date. It also did not disclose the purchase price, financing structure, revenue contribution, client assets or staffing implications.
Libeara expands beyond token issuance
Libeara builds technology used by financial institutions and asset managers to structure, issue and distribute tokenized investments on public blockchains. Its official website says its infrastructure supports more than $1 billion of tokenized assets across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Avalanche and Solana.
The proposed acquisition would extend that infrastructure toward regulated execution and distribution. Aaron Gwak, Libeara’s founder and chief executive, said in the announcement that the transaction would help the company streamline execution for international investors seeking access to tokenized assets.
The combination would bring issuance technology and a regulated dealing business into the same corporate group. The announcement presents that structure as a way to reduce operational friction between creating tokenized investments and making them available to international buyers. The companies did not say whether products, systems or client accounts would be consolidated after closing.
Libeara’s Singapore operating company is a Capital Markets Services licensee regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The regulator’s directory lists the company as licensed to deal in securities and collective investment schemes.
Libeara was incubated by SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation and venture arm. In June, the company raised $14 million in a strategic round led by GSR, with participants including Openspace Capital, Kyobo Life Insurance Group, AlloyX, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Kaia Investment Partners and Simsan Ventures. The company said then that it would use the capital to expand its regulated digital-asset infrastructure internationally.
Zodia businesses are being reorganized
The agreement comes as Standard Chartered restructures other parts of the Zodia ecosystem. On October 21, the bank signed definitive agreements to acquire Zodia Custody, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Standard Chartered said it plans to integrate Zodia Custody’s regulated custody operations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg into the bank’s Securities Services business. Zodia Custody’s software and professional-services assets are due to move into a separate SC Ventures company called Zodia Solutions.
Zodia Markets is a distinct institutional digital-asset brokerage business. Its Jersey unit originated from Zodia Markets’ 2024 acquisition of Elwood Technologies’ over-the-counter trading operation. The Jersey business provides regulated services for institutional clients, including execution involving digital assets and tokenized investments.
Nick Philpott, interim chief executive of Zodia Markets, said in Libeara’s announcement that the buyer is positioned to build on the Jersey unit’s regulatory foundation as institutional tokenized-finance activity expands. The companies said clients should receive continuity through the proposed ownership change, although they did not provide detailed integration plans.