Nick Jones, founder and CEO at Zumo, shares how Zumo helps banks and fintechs launch secure and compliant digital asset services, why sustainability sits at the core with its Oxygen toolkit, and where the company is heading as it builds net zero aligned infrastructure for a mainstream crypto future.
What inspired you and Paul Roach to found Zumo in 2018, and how has the mission evolved since then?
We started Zumo with a simple but powerful belief that everyone should have access to the benefits of digital assets, not just the early adopters. Back in 2018, Paul and I saw two things coming: the inevitability of digital assets becoming mainstream, and the urgent need to build that future responsibly, especially around regulation and sustainability.
Our mission today has evolved into something even more focused: to build the infrastructure for a compliant, net-zero-aligned digital asset economy. It’s about enabling financial institutions, fintechs and exchanges to bring crypto to their users in a way that’s scalable, secure and aligned with global standards.
How does Zumo’s crypto-as-a-service platform help traditional banks and fintechs launch secure, sustainable digital asset offerings?
Zumo is a modular infrastructure platform designed for institutions. We provide everything needed to offer digital asset services from custody and trading to KYC, AML and Financial Promotions compliance all delivered through a single, API-first integration.
It’s turnkey and FCA-aligned, so you can go from idea to sandbox in under two weeks. For banks and fintechs, that means they can launch crypto and fiat products faster, with lower operational risk and no need to reinvent infrastructure. Our clients stay in control of their customer experience while we handle the heavy lifting including licensing pathways, onboarding flows, and even ESG strategy if they need it.
As an early signatory of the Crypto Climate Accord, how does Zumo measure and minimise the carbon footprint of its services?
Sustainability is baked into our product, not bolted on as an afterthought.
Our Oxygen solution is a first-of-its-kind toolkit that lets financial institutions measure, report and reduce the carbon impact of their digital asset activity.
We calculate Scope 3 emissions across client activity using blockchain data, offset that impact with high-quality renewable energy certificates, and provide third-party verified reporting. This ESG capability has already been used to support Europe’s first carbon-mitigated Bitcoin ETF and it’s part of what helps our partners meet climate-related disclosure obligations under MiCA, TCFD and the UK’s emerging anti-greenwashing rules.
What role did your experience at Goto.com and Yahoo! play in shaping Zumo’s approach to user experience and scalability?
Those early internet years taught me that technology only wins when it’s intuitive and scalable. At Yahoo!, I learned what it means to operate at a global scale, but still make each user feel like the product is built for them. That mindset carried into Zumo.
We build infrastructure that integrates invisibly modular components that sit inside our clients’ platforms. They retain their brand, their front end and their customer relationships, while we provide the secure rails underneath. We think a lot about how to make onboarding and integration feel frictionless for developers, compliance teams and end users alike.
How do Zumo’s APIs enable seamless integration of digital asset tools into existing financial products?
Zumo is built to feel like part of your stack not a bolt-on. Every module we offer, from custody and trading to onboarding and compliance, is available via clean, documented APIs with developer toolkits, sandbox access and live support.
Our clients don’t need to build anything from scratch. They configure the services they need around custody, ramp, KYC, compliance logic and we help them get live quickly, in full alignment with their regulatory obligations. We’ve had partners go from signed scope to live trading in under eight weeks. That kind of speed is a game-changer.
In co-founding the Emerging Technologies Sustainability Taskforce, what key sustainability standards are you advocating for in the blockchain industry?
We’re advocating for accountability. Digital assets should be subject to the same environmental standards as the rest of the financial system. That includes credible Scope 3 emissions accounting, standardised reporting formats, and more consistent guidance from regulators around ESG claims in crypto.
The Taskforce is a multi-stakeholder effort. We’ve got input from climate experts, technologists, regulators and market participants. Our focus is on setting a global benchmark that’s both credible and practical. Because if we want digital assets to have a future in mainstream finance, they must stand up to scrutiny.
How do you balance the tension between innovation speed and regulatory compliance when working with banks and large institutions?
You don’t balance it, you embed it. Zumo is compliance-first by design. We don’t separate innovation from regulation. Our onboarding framework Scope, Define, Build, Deliver — is designed to move fast, but never recklessly.
Our infrastructure is already aligned with the UK’s Financial Promotions rules. We support authorisation processes under the FCA, MiCA and FSMA. And in many cases, we help our clients engage directly with regulators including through our work in the FCA sandbox and various ongoing pilot initiatives. We’re in market now, with infrastructure that’s been proven and approved.
What have been the biggest challenges in driving mainstream adoption of digital assets, and how is Zumo addressing them?
Trust and complexity. Many firms want to offer digital assets but face two key barriers: they don’t know where to start, and they don’t want to risk their licence. Zumo exists to remove both of those blockers.
We provide the regulated infrastructure and the expert enablement to take them from ambition to execution. We’ve worked with neobanks, wealth platforms and traditional FIs to go live in a way that satisfies both internal stakeholders and external regulators. That’s how you move this industry forward with real delivery, not just vision decks.
How does Zumo maintain trust and security for its clients while staying at the cutting edge of crypto innovation?
We lead with credibility. Every part of our infrastructure is built to institutional standards from custody security and AML to audit logs and reporting. But more than that, we’ve built trust by doing the hard regulatory work early: becoming an FCA-registered cryptoasset firm, integrating FinProm rules, and actively engaging with policy makers.
We’ve also delivered real-world products that reflect this ethos like powering ESG-first ETF products and acting as the UK partner for global exchanges. We’re not chasing hype cycles. We’re building what’s next, responsibly.
What strategic priorities or new initiatives are you focusing on next to grow Zumo’s impact in the digital assets ecosystem?
There are two big ones: deeper institutional partnerships, and new regulatory markets.
We’re continuing to scale our Crypto Access Accelerator helping clients embed buy-hold-sell capability with everything from custody and compliance to ESG reporting baked in. At the same time, we’re expanding beyond the UK into the UAE and selected EU markets, especially where MiCA is creating a level playing field.
We’re also piloting new service models with banks and payments providers, in close dialogue with the FCA and other policy bodies. These aren’t just ideas they’re live engagements. And the results will help define what “trusted crypto infrastructure” means for the next decade.
