Japanese Financial Giant SBI Buys UK Crypto Trading Firm B2C2

SBI Holdings has acquired the U.K.-based cryptocurrency trading firm B2C2 via its wholly-owned subsidiary, SBI Financial Services.

While the acquisition amount was not disclosed, the deal comes a few months after the Japanese conglomerate acquired a minority stake of $30 million in B2C2, which earlier this year said it would expand its business into prime brokerage services. 

Since the two companies partnered in July, SBI has been providing its clients access to B2C2’s platform, and the firm’s trading volumes have quadrupled in the last six months. 

Speaking on the development, SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao noted that B2C2 has an outstanding reputation for its world-class products, superb technology, and valuable clients.

KYC and Audit Solutions For Every Project!

Giving Institutions Access To Crypto

The firm’s vision and proficiency complement that of SBI. They are looking forward to working together as they expand their footprint across the global market, Kitao said, adding that the crypto industry has to be structured globally.

B2C2 was founded in 2015 and has grown into one of the largest cryptocurrency companies known for being a pioneer in the digital asset market.

B2C2 founder, Max Boonen, said the deal’s timing could not be better for SBI as more financial institutions are looking to join the crypto space. 

SBI will retain B2C2’s Japanese team, and they will work directly from the SBI’s offices. Boonen expects the total headcount to increase to more than 70 employees soon. 

Both companies hope the deal will create a “counterparty of choice for mainstream financial firms looking to invest in cryptocurrencies,” Reuters reported.  

Ripple’s Partner

As an active player in the industry, SBI is always looking for ways to expand its services. Today’s deal follows the company’s recent acquisition of Japanese local crypto exchange TaoTao, making it the company’s second licensed crypto exchange platform after SBI VC TRADE, which debuted a Bitcoin lending service a few weeks ago. 

Btc

Bitcoin

$27.941
price

0.89264%
price change

TRADE NOW

SBI is also a notable partner of Ripple, an American payment solution firm. In 2016, both companies launched a joint venture dubbed SBI Ripple Asia to promote the use of RippleNet for transactions across Asia.