It was recently announced that the top-tier crypto exchange, FTX, will permit users to exchange stocks and trade funds on its famous trading app. This will not, in any way, affect the exchange of Bitcoin and Dogecoin. The exchange of cryptocurrencies will still continue.
It was announced that on Thursday, FTX would grant access to a few US customers to engage in its stock trading service. This announcement was made by the head of the crypto exchange in its US office. The announcement was made in an interview. The head assures the US customer base that plans are underway to extend the functionality of the stock trading service to all US customers in a few months.
This announcement came after it was revealed that FTX CEO Bankman-Fried had deposited a whopping $648 million for a 7.6% stake in Robinhood. Robinhood is an online retail stockbroker. It also deals with cryptocurrency. Fried confirmed that he purchased the shares because they were viable investments.
This expansion further highlights FTX’s unwavering willingness and commitment to venture into the financial operations that are more closely regulated than the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Brett Harrison, the FTX US Chief, further affirms this commitment.
“We would like to become the ‘everything exchange’ and the ‘everything app’ when it comes to financial services and fintech in general.” Harrison also expressed their willingness to employ the lessons FTX has garnered from the crypto market to improve market structure.
It appears, however, that FTX intends to stand as a strong competitor to Robinhood. FTX has understudied the business model of Robinhood for a long time. This was the submission of Harrison, as he granted the interview. This is further confirmed as FTX stocks will not charge commissions or fees, nor will they accept payments for their order flow. This is exactly how Robin Hood operates.
FTX stocks, as this new service provider is called, shall only receive payment for stocks that are bought in “fiat-based stablecoins”. This also includes Binance USD and USD coins. This excludes the algorithmic stablecoins like TerraUSD. Harrison also submits that FTX will not receive well known stablecoins like tether for these payments.
