Nagela Joins B2C2 for Options Push

Crypto trading firm B2C2 has announced plans to launch a global options trading operation and appointed two people to run the business, which is expected to be live in mid-2021.

Brad Nagela joins the firm in Chicago as global head of options trading. He was previously at Powerblockcoin.com where he built a risk management system for the business, prior to that he worked at crypto ECN Blockfills. Nagela moved into the crypto world from FX options where he held senior roles at BlueCrest Capital Management, Citi, Bank of America and Societe Generale.

Johannes Woolard will run the options business in Europe in London as well as concentrate on exchange-traded options as head of automated options trading. Woolard joined B2C2 in 2018 as head of trading technology after an eight-year spell at non-bank market maker Lucid Markets, where he was CTO.

B2C2, which is owned by Japan’s SBI Financial Services after the latter acquired the firm in December 2020 (it took an initial minority stake in July 2020), says it is seeing strong demand from existing clients for more sophisticated products, as well as interest from family offices, private banks and hedge funds that currently do not trade or invest in the crypto space.

It adds that the acquisition by SBI has provided the balance sheet and credit strength necessary to launch an options business. It will kick off by offering trading in vanilla options and dual currency investments (DCIs), as well as block trading on major exchanges. More complex products are slated for release later in the year, including barriers.

Driving the expansion into options is a belief at B2C2, the firm says, that the crypto options market will follow the evolution of the FX options market and be predominantly OTC with major players laying off risk with each other.