Safello, a Sweden-based bitcoin exchange, has announced the asset acquisition of BT Technology Inc., owner of the peer-to-peer crypto futures exchanges platform ‘ICBIT’.

The official release said that the acquisition is linked to Safello's recently relaunched platform that serves as the foundation for integrating the ICBIT technology. Among other improvements, it features a redesigned buy and sell process built from the ground up.

Founded in 2011, ICBIT went live in 2012 with several futures products including BTC/USD rate, BTC/LTC rate as well as Bitcoin difficulty and an S&P500Index. More than 11.6 million orders have been submitted to the platform serving over 12.000 traders.

"In the last three years, we have had M&A discussions with over eight companies. BT Technology Inc. was the first deal we evaluated that made commercial, technological and operational sense. There are exciting synergies between our platforms that will strengthen our market position and benefit Safello's customer base”, said Frank Schuil, Founder & CEO Safello.

As part of the acquisition, ICBIT founder and CEO Aleksey Bragin has joined Safello as Chief Technology Officer. Bragin will oversee the integration of the technology and will help further the development of Safello's platform and services.

"In Safello we found a partner and a home for our technology. I am very excited to bring our expertise to Safello and continue development of our platform under the Safello brand. I am confident in Safello becoming a global leader in the blockchain and cryptocurrency market”, said Aleksey Bragin, Founder ICBIT.

Established mid-2013, Safello completed its second crowdfunding round in Q3 2016 where participants joined an A-list of existing investors including the Digital Currency Group, Erik Voorhees, Roger Ver and Nicolas Cary.