Polkadot, Zodia Partner to Offer Bank-Grade Custody and DOT Staking for Institutions

Polkadot Capital Group, the capital markets arm of the Polkadot ecosystem, and Zodia Custody, the institution-first digital assets custodian, announced a strategic initiative today aimed at increasing institutional awareness of Zodia’s Polkadot custody and integrated staking solutions. The programme, unveiled in a joint press release, is positioned as a practical step to make the Polkadot network more accessible to large capital allocators by pairing institutional-grade custody with Polkadot’s multi-chain technology.

At the heart of the initiative is a bank-first security and risk-management framework that both organisations say is critical to bringing institutional capital into Web3. Polkadot Capital Group will showcase Zodia’s custody model as part of the broader institutional infrastructure supporting Polkadot, emphasising how custody services can align with evolving regulatory expectations in key jurisdictions. The partners framed their work as an effort to lower the barriers institutions face when evaluating participation in next-generation networks.

“For institutional adoption to truly take hold, the foundational layer of security must be uncompromising,” said Dave Sedacca, Lead at Polkadot Capital Group, in the announcement. Sedacca described the collaboration as an effort to “define the institutional onramp” by combining Polkadot’s technology with custody solutions that meet the high standards expected by traditional finance.

Anoosh Arevshatian, Chief Product Officer at Zodia Custody, said the firm’s approach lets institutions stake DOT directly from cold, segregated custody, removing friction while preserving control and transparency. “By enabling DOT staking directly from cold, segregated custody, we’re redefining what institutional-grade participation looks like: safe, transparent, and frictionless,” Arevshatian said, adding that the collaboration is intended to give institutions the confidence to engage at scale.

Greater Institutional Participation

The announcement comes as Polkadot enters its next phase of institutional and enterprise development under the ongoing technical evolution led by founder Dr. Gavin Wood. Polkadot Capital Group, created to act as a conduit between TradFi and the Polkadot network, provides educational resources, market insights and ecosystem connections designed to help asset managers, venture firms and capital allocators engage more confidently with blockchain-based financial instruments and settlement frameworks. The group is headquartered in the Cayman Islands with core teams in North America and London.

Zodia Custody, backed by Standard Chartered and partnered with firms including Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank and Emirates NBD, brings a suite of custody, treasury and settlement services aimed squarely at institutional investors. The company is registered with multiple regulators, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Central Bank of Ireland, a point Zodia highlights as part of its bid to offer “bank-first” custody for regulated, large-scale participants.

Industry observers said the tie-up signals a continuing move to normalise institutional participation in proof-of-stake ecosystems by reducing operational and regulatory friction. As Polkadot expands its application-driven framework and Zodia scales its product set, the partnership is likely to be watched closely by asset managers and custodians assessing how to bridge traditional finance requirements with the technical realities of on-chain participation.

Both organisations framed the collaboration as a pragmatic step rather than an endpoint: institutional access, they said, will be built incrementally through secure, compliant infrastructure, clear governance practices and continued dialogue between the Web3 and TradFi communities.