For SBI, the investment in B2C2 is first of all the means of expanding into the overseas market. The UK will be quite challenging for SBI that has explored Asian market before, but this experience will be worth it.
SBI Financial Services, a subsidiary of Japanese financial giant and the largest known Ripple Labs shareholder SBI Holdings (TSE: SBHGF), has invested $30 million in B2C2, a British crypto liquidity startup. According to the press release, both SBI Financial Services and B2C2 will benefit from the deal. The former will expand its crypto offering to millions of existing customers, while the latter will be closer to its aim of becoming a prime broker.
Within this strategic partnership, B2C2 will serve as the main digital assets liquidity provider for SBI. It will also get access to SBI’s resources on the way to its ultimate mission. According to B2C2 CEO Max Boonen, SBI is “the right partner to unlock the next drivers” of its growth.
Boonen said:
“B2C2 will benefit from SBI’s balance sheet, which is far larger than anything committed to the crypto market to date. It will complement our asset liability management framework – the most sophisticated in the market – to deliver an execution platform that will not only be a game changer in crypto, but also positions us to expand across asset classes as we set our sights on the $20bn-a-year prime brokerage market.”
For SBI, the investment is first of all the means of expanding into the overseas market. The UK will be quite challenging for SBI that has explored Asian market before, but this experience will be worth it.
SBI Holdings president and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao commented:
“We expect a lot of synergies with B2C2, a firm which has a large number of clients globally and offers abundant liquidity, excellent price competitiveness, and a diverse suite of products for their customers. We will work to develop innovative new crypto products and deepen synergies across our group of companies.”
Why SBI Opts for B2C2?
Set up in 2015, UK-based B2C2 is the leading cryptocurrency liquidity provider. It has offices in London, Tokyo as well as Jersey City. Its client base includes institutions like hedge funds, family offices, and banks. B2C2 bridges the gap between traditional financial and cryptocurrency markets. It supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Zcash (ZEC).
In 2016, B2C2 launched the first crypto-native single dealer platform. It became the first foreign dealer that succeeded in the Japanese market. In 2019, the company introduced the first OTC streaming price feed, becoming the first crypto company in the EU to secure a MiFID investment firm license. B2C2 OTC Ltd. is authorized and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 810834).
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