Archax to Buy Spanish Broker King & Shaxson Capital Markets to Expand in Europe

Archax, a U.K.-regulated crypto exchange and custodian, agreed to buy Spanish broker King & Shaxson Capital Markets (KSCM) to expand in the European Union as the trading bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) rules take effect.

Completion of the deal is subject to regulatory approval in Spain, the London-based company said Thursday. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

KSCM started in Madrid in 2019 to service pan-European institutional clients. Following the acquisition, it will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Archax. The acquisition will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-registered company to extend its existing brokerage, multilateral trading facility (MTF) and custody services into Europe while adding crypto derivatives to its permissions.

MiCA is set to apply as of Dec. 30, though stablecoin provisions took effect in June.

“The Archax strategy has always been to expand its regulatory footprint globally, with the EU region being of prime importance for us, post-Brexit,” Graham Rodford, CEO and co-founder of Archax, said in a release. “This acquisition expands and enhances our access to permissions within the EU region, building on those we hold with the FCA in the UK,” he added.