Latest news with #UsmanAhmad
Finextra
11-08-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Zodia Markets raises over $18 million in Series A funding
Zodia Markets, the Standard Chrtered-backed 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. 0 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, 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. 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. "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 firm supports over 20 fiat currencies and more than 70 digital assets, including USD and non-USD stablecoins. Ahmad says the financing will be directed twoards the firm's continuing geographic expansion and support for stablecoin-based payment orchestration.
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Zodia Markets Raises $18.25M to Fuel International Expansion, Stablecoin Payments
Zodia Markets, the crypto trading firm majority-owned by Standard Chartered (STAN), has raised $18.25 million led by Pharsalus Capital. The Series A funding round will be used to support Zodia's international expansion effort and further develop its stablecoin payments services, according to an announcement on Monday. Zodia is aimed at financial institutions, offering them a combination of wholesale finance and 24/7 digital asset trading, to "reengineer traditional foreign exchange capital flows with real time stablecoin settlement across borders," CEO Usman Ahmad said in the announcement. "Institutional capital shouldn't have to wait for banking hours or be held back by manual workarounds", Ahmad added. Stablecoins are crypto tokens pegged to the value of traditional financial assets, normally fiat currencies. Free from the often volatile price swings that afflict a lot of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins allow traders to hold capital in the digital asset ecosystem and be sure that it will maintain a consistent value. They have been a central part of evolving regulation of digital assets, with major jurisdictions such as the U.S. and Hong Kong introducing stablecoin regulatory regimes. Zodia's Series A funding round also included contributions from Circle Ventures, The Operating Group and XVC Tech. Sign in to access your portfolio
