SBI Holdings Acquires B2C21 to Attract Institutional Crypto Traders

SBI Holdings has joined the long list of firms looking to attract more institutional crypto investors. This week, the firm completed the acquisition of B2C2, a British crypto trading firm.

Creating a New Subsidiary

According to an official announcement from earlier today, SBI Holdings confirmed that it had purchased 90 percent of B2C2. The company explained that both firms would now be looking into expanding trading opportunities for mainstream financial institutions with an appetite for cryptocurrencies.

Max Boonen, B2C2’s founder and chief executive, noted that the move was in line with the firm’s desire to increase its user base. He added that cryptocurrencies had become a non-negligible part of the global financial industry. They will continue to have more of an impact on the financial market for the next decade. 

Looking to put itself at the forefront of this financial evolution, the company touted the SBI partnership as a great outlet.

Yoshitaka Kitao, SBI’s CEO and President, also praised the partnership and B2C2’s excellent technology.

“B2C2 is a company with world-class products and services, excellent technology, and excellent customer base in the crypto-asset industry, and is highly regarded worldwide. B2C2’s vision, expertise and provision We are confident that our services will generate good synergies with the SBI Group,” he said. 

Founded less than a decade ago, B2C2 has grown into one of the world’s top crypto trading firms. Besides the U.K, it also has offices in Japan and the United States. Boonen explained that the acquisition would see B2C2’s Japanese officials move into SBI’s offices. The company will also be looking to improve its workforce with 20 additional staff.

SBI’s Love for Institutions

While the deal was completed yesterday, it isn’t the first contact between B2C2 and SBI. In July, SBI invested in B2C2 through its subsidiary, SBI Financial Services Co., Ltd. The investment, which amounted to 3.2 billion yen ($30 million at the time), gave SBI an undisclosed minority stake in the trading firm.

Beyond the acquisition, SBI also allowed its clients to trade directly through B2C2’s platform.

The B2C2 acquisition is just the second institution attraction play from SBI this month. On December 8, the firm’s crypto-focused subsidiary, SBI Digital Asset Holdings, announced a partnership with the SIX Digital Exchange to launch a crypto-focused venture in Singapore.

Presenting at the Fintech Singapore Festival, the partners explained that their new joint platform would target institutional clients by merging SBI and SIX’s market expertise. It will provide several services, including digital asset listing, trading, and issuing. The platform will also offer custody and regulated digital asset securities.

It is expected to launch in 2022, subject to approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).