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.

Source: Zodia Markets