Britannia Enters Crypto Space Through Alphaplate Acquisition
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: April 22, 2022
Britannia Financial Group has acquired Alphaplate, a proprietary technology firm specialising in cryptocurrency trading as a systematic, quantitative market-maker predominately on top tier exchanges. Terms of the deal were not announced.
The firm says the acquisition will allow Britannia to provide its clients access to execution, custody, OTC services, payments and asset management across the digital assets market. Alphaplate and its team, who will largely remain in place, bring with them proven execution capabilities alongside a robust risk management system, it adds.
The Alphaplate team transitioning consists of Jan I Strømme, who previously held senior positions at GSA Capital Partners and XTX Markets; Chao Li, a quant trader with over 10 years in banking and crypto; and Dan Timofte a full stack software engineer. Robert Crenian, former CEO of Europe for Renaissance Technologies will remain as an advisor.
“With over $100 billion traded daily on the global crypto markets, it is an increasingly important asset class to many of our clients, who are looking for access to this rapidly emerging asset class,” says Mark Bruce, head of strategy for Britannia Financial Group. “Following this acquisition, Britannia will be an early adopter amongst financial institutions to be able to offer its clients an end-to-end crypto trading offering. Our strength and agility as a privately owned group, has allowed Britannia to quickly respond to market developments and offer clients new services, disrupting the traditional banking sector.”