B2C2, a London-based liquidity provider, 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. With Woorton’s PSAN (prestataires de services sur actifs numériques) license, regulated by the AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers), B2C2 can now offer its services to the EU’s institutional sector. The financials of the deal remain undisclosed.
Thomas Restout, Head of EMEA at B2C2, said, “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.”
By combining Woorton’s client base and over-the-counter (OTC) services with B2C2, the two firms aim to increase overall crypto market liquidity. This is especially important in the current bear market, as U.S. trading firms Jane Street and Jump have recently announced they would be reducing crypto trading activity.
B2C2 was acquired by Japanese financial group SBI Holdings in 2020, making it the first major financial group to own a crypto trading firm.