Major cryptocurrency exchange FTX gets into stock trading, with the launch of a stock trading platform by its US affiliate FTX US.
West Realm Shires Services, owner and operator of FTX US, announced on May 19 the upcoming launch of FTX Stocks, a stock trading service offered directly through the FTX US trading application.
The new stock trading platform will offer the ability to trade and invest in hundreds of US-listed stocks, including common stocks and exchange-traded funds.
According to the announcement, FTX Stocks will be the first platform to allow retail investors to fund their accounts with fiat-backed stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC). The option is enabled through a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange FTX US, providing an alternative option to the default US dollar deposit methods, including bank transfers, credit card deposits and others.
The FTX Stocks platform will initially be available in a private beta phase to select US clients chosen from a waiting list. The service will also initially route all orders through Nasdaq in order to ensure transparent trade execution and fair pricing, the announcement said.
“With the launch of FTX Stocks, we have created a single integrated platform for retail investors to easily trade cryptocurrencies, NFTs and traditional stock offerings through a transparent and intuitive user interface”said FTX US President Brett Harrison. He added that there is “clear market demand” for a new retail investment experience that supports “full transparency in order routing” and does not rely on payment for order flow.
The news comes shortly after FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried criticized the effectiveness of Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment network on May 16. Specific, expressed concern about the mining consensus of the Bitcoin network, arguing that it is not scalable enough to process millions of transactions.
The CEO has also been actively buying shares of major industry players, holding around $650 million in shares of crypto stock trading app Robinhood as of May 2022.
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