Cryptocurrency storage provider Zodia Custody, a spin-off of Standard Chartered, has announced its strategic collaboration with the Polkadot blockchain’s developer. Joining forces with Parity Technologies, the objective is clear: cushioning the Polkadot ecosystem with institutional backing, and delivering digital asset security for financial institutions.
The partnership aims to facilitate the staking of DOT, the native currency of Polkadot, as a means to extend institutional integration in the blockchain network. Obviously, the strength of Zodia Custody, a brainchild of global banking giant Standard Chartered, with shareholders like SBI Holdings and Northern Trust, carries immense weight in the context of digital assets’ unfolding institutional acceptance.
The team just recently set up camp in Singapore, thus expanding its territorial reach even further. This move comes as part of a broader strategy, aiming to strengthen the ties between traditional finance and the burgeoning crypto-financial ecosystem, using institutional-grade storage and staking services.
However, it should be noted that Polkadot’s DOT currently holds 13th place among all digital currencies with a market capitalization of around $5 billion, as per CoinMarketCap data. It’s trading slightly above the $4 mark at the time of writing, a zone it has not dipped into for three years. This downturn is in sync with an overall altcoin market correction. Consequently, the move could be viewed as a risky one given the recent market dynamics.
Yet, the partnership could generate a much-desired institutional acknowledgement for Polkadot, breathing fresh life into the network. Nevertheless, the practicality of the anticipated institutional integration still hangs in the balance, as it eventually boils down to the adoption speed and market stability.
Through initiatives like these, the increasing infiltration of traditional banking into crypto custody could be seen as a pivotal moment in the maturation of digital assets. Lastly, it would be interesting to witness how such alliances become catalysts in bridging the orthodox finance and decentralised crypto-assets.
Meanwhile, the turbulence in DOT’s price remains a salient caveat that should not be overlooked. The tussle between the potential institutional integration and the prevalent market instability hence forms an intriguing subplot in the narrative of the crypto market’s journey.
Source: Coindesk
