Crypto Exchange Platform FTX To Offer Stock Trading Services In The US

FTX US President Brett Harrison

Crypto exchange platform FTX has announced plans to offer stock trading services for its customers through its US wing FTX US. In its announcement, the company said that the launch will be kicked off in a private beta mode for customers that’ll be selected from a waitlist. The company also revealed that it plans a full rollout of the service before the end of the year.

Via its new offering, FTX which is the world’s second-largest exchange platform by trading volume will offer a wide range of securities listed in the US including ETFs and common stock and fractional shares in select securities.

The company gave additional information on how it plans to go about its new offering. Its plan is to route all orders through the NASDAQ instead of a third-party market maker, adding that it will not receive payment for order flow. This method involves exchanges receiving payment from market makers for bringing orders their way; this is the method trading platform Robinhood became notorious for. This method has raised quite a lot of eyebrows because it most times means the investor fails to receive their shares at the best possible price. While it is advantageous to market makers and exchanges because they benefit from the spread, it is disadvantageous to investors.

FTX says it will allow its users to fund their brokerage accounts using fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDC and claims to be the first to offer this feature. Users can also decide to fund their brokerage accounts using credit card deposits, ACH, and wire transfers. It also added that it won’t require users to hold a minimum balance to be a part of its no-fee account.

According to FTX US’s President Brett Harrison, “What we eventually want to offer is an everything app for financial services.”