SBI-Owned B2C2 Eyes European Expansion With Acquisition of Rival Trading Firm Woorton

London-based liquidity provider B2C2 has acquired French market making firm Woorton in a deal that grants B2C2 access to Woorton's regulatory licenses, allowing it to operate in the EU, according to a press release.

B2C2 can now offer its services to the European Union's institutional sector via Woorton's PSAN (prestataires de services sur actifs numériques) license, which is regulated by the AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers).

The financials of the deal were not disclosed.

"Like us, the [Woorton] team has a TradFi background, but with the same crypto and digital assets laser focus. Together we are a combination of highly complementary businesses that deliver multi asset breadth and depth to clients in the EU market,” Thomas Restout, head of EMEA at B2C2, said in the statement.

Woorton will combine its client base and over-the-counter (OTC) services with B2C2 to increase overall crypto market liquidity, which has been a key talking point in the current bear market as U.S. trading firms Jane Street and Jump recently announced they would be reducing crypto trading activity.

Japanese financial group SBI Holdings acquired B2C2 in 2020, becoming the first major financial group to own a crypto trading firm.