Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody CEO Maxime de Guillebon has resigned as director of the digital asset custody firm. Julian Sawyer has been appointed as a director, potentially the new chief executive, but the news based on corporate director filings has yet to be confirmed in time for publication.

For a year and a half, Sawyer was CEO of cryptocurrency exchange BitStamp until May 9, 2022. That was followed by a short stint at Gemini Europe and a four-year tenure at UK challenger bank Starling, where he was director of operations.

UK-based Zodia Custody has Northern Trust as a minority partner holding 5%. To date, the two owners have financed the startup to the tune of $60 million. It received approval from the UK regulator, the FCA, in mid-2021.

In a December announcement, Zodia Custody launched Interchange, which offers an alternative to pre-funding and margin models on exchanges. Zodia Custody allows clients to hold their assets through the Interchange, which can be mirrored on a cryptocurrency exchange but are protected in the event of an exchange failing.

There are two Zodia brands, one for custody and the other is a cryptocurrency broker Zodia Markets, through a partnership with Hong Kong’s OSL exchange.

In July, Standard Chartered announced a partnership with Japan’s SBI to build a digital asset ecosystem involving SC Ventures. At the time, SBI mentioned a digital asset custody joint venture between a ‘UK global company’ and two SBI subsidiaries, SBI Digital Assets Holdings and crypto exchange SBI VC Trade.