Popular cryptocurrency exchange FTX is reportedly going to expand with stock trading. The US-based subsidiary, FTX US, is launching a new platform for this.
Trade hundreds of listed stocks
The owner and operator of FTX US is West Realm Shires Services. Today, May 19, they have announced that FTX Stocks is coming. This will be a new service specific to stock trading and will be offered directly through FTX US.
The new trading platform will allow users to trade and invest in hundreds of US publicly traded stocks. FTX Stocks is reportedly set to become the first platform ever to allow retail investors to fund their accounts with fiat-backed stablecoins, such as USD Coin (USDC).
Through a partnership with the FTX US crypto exchange, the new option is offered, which offers an alternative option to standard US dollar ($$) deposit methods. including bank transfers, credit card deposits and others.
Making it easier for retail investors
FTX US President Brett Harrison said the following about the new platform:
“With the launch of FTX Stocks, we have created a single integrated platform for retail investors to easily trade crypto, NFTs and traditional stock offerings through a transparent and intuitive user interface. There is clear market demand for a new retail investment experience that supports full transparency of order routing, without relying on payment for the order flow.”
Most recently, FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried called Bitcoin (BTC) inefficient as a means of payment. He specifically expressed concerns about the mining consensus of the BTC network, arguing that it is not scalable enough to handle millions of transactions. Bankman-Fried has also purchased approximately $650 million worth of shares from Robinhood. That this step is taken with this does not seem to be entirely surprising.