Ripple Partner SBI Gains UK Foothold after Agreeing USD 30m B2C2 Deal
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Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has agreed a deal to buy a USD 30 million minority stake in Britain-based crypto player B2C2. The latter also says it will “launch a full prime brokerage for both crypto and other asset classes,” per its founder.
According to Reuters, SBI has agreed to the deal in principle, and SBI’s SBI Financial Services subsidiary will enter into a formal partnership with B2C2.
SBI is one of Japan’s most notable and powerful crypto players. The company co-runs Ripple’s blockchain-powered payment operations in Asia under the SBI Ripple Asia umbrella.
Although the company is still best-known in Japan as a financial services provider and securities trading platform, it also runs a fully licensed crypto exchange, as well as international crypto mining operations.
Its chairman Yoshitaka Kitao is an outspoken crypto advocate and a member of the Ripple board.
Like rival Japanese securities provider Monex Group, which has been particularly active in the American market, SBI has made no secret of its desire to expand into overseas crypto markets.
A foothold in the UK could yet prove to be a game-changer for SBI, whose international expansion has mainly seen it explore markets in Asia.
B2C2 provides liquidity to exchanges, banks and hedge funds, and Reuters reports that SBI intends to “use B2C2’s liquidity to support its clients trading cryptocurrencies.”
Liquidity is a hot topic for SBI, which last month announced it was planning to launch Ripple’s own on-demand liquidity (ODL) service for its RippleNet payments network in Asia “by the end of 2020 if possible.”
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