By
Steve Muchoki
February 16th, 2024
The co-founder of Altonomy Ricky Li has disclosed plans to turn Altonomy toward venture investments and proprietary trading.
Blockchain.com, a leading and pioneering cryptocurrency exchange, has just announced an acquisition deal of Altonomy’s over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk according to a recent report.
Founded in 2018, Altonomy is a digital assets investments, market making and OTC firm that basically focuses on altcoins. The firm’s OTC desk is used to pair buyers and sellers of hard-to-move assets.
Blockchain.com Expands Crypto OTC Network, Focuses on Altcoins
Despite the prominence Blockchain.com had gained in the crypto space over the years, the exchange is seeking to further serve its users with exclusive functionalities as it has made a huge move to significantly expand its crypto OTC network.
According to Dan Bookstaber, the VP of Markets, “Altonomy’s client network, its Asia footprint and the altcoin focus” were the key factors that triggered the acquisition deal. Prior to the acquisition, Blockchain.com already had one of the larger desks for OTC options that are more complex than spot trades, however, it has decided to further acquire Altonomy’s OTC trading desk in a bid to effectively boost its altcoin trading capacity.
It is correct to say that the acquisition was indeed a milestone to push Blockchain.com into achieving its goals as reports revealed that the deal has significantly expanded Blockchain.com’s presence in crypto OTC trading.
Bookstaber commented on the acquisition saying that “their technology is very good at finding liquidity and managing execution on coins that are much lower liquidity,” “…They have quite a bit of network within the ecosystem of people who are building these clients, far before they ever get listed,” added he.
Autonomy Looks Forward to Venture Investments and Proprietary Trading
Although Blockchain.com did not disclose the terms of the deal, it only revealed that it has already integrated Altonomy’s “core systems” with its existing OTC trading capabilities. With up to 26 employees of Altonomy moving to Blockchan.com. As such, the acquisition will see Altonomy exiting the Altcoin space as it has apparently sold its OTC trading capabilities.q
Nonetheless, the co-founder of Altonomy Ricky Li has disclosed plans to turn Altonomy toward venture investments and proprietary trading.
“The company’s OTC trading “paid well for us” but it was time to make an exit. Clients wanted borrowing and lending services that Altonomy had little interest in building,” Li explained.
“[Now] we just get to manage our own money and trade on the market,” he added.