FTX, a digital assets derivatives exchange that primarily caters to Asian traders and investors, will be introducing a spot exchange in the US markets.
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO at FTX, noted that the company’s US-based trading platform is presently in its beta testing phase. The spot exchange is expected to go live (in the US) early next month.
As mentioned on FTX.US’ official website, the new trading platform has registered as a money services business (MSB) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Treasury Department that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat illicit activities.
The derivatives exchange says it’s also currently in the process of obtaining state-level money transmitter licenses (MTL) from several US states.
Financial services providers need MSB and MTLs licenses, as they are required if businesses are to operate legally and in a compliant manner in the United States. FTX confirmed that it would apply for a BitLicense in order to offer services in New York.
The new derivatives exchange will keep a separate order book from the main FTX derivatives trading platform. At present, FTX supports trading in US dollars with six digital asset pairs, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Paxos Gold (PAXG), and Tether (USDT).
Bankman-Fried stated that the exchange would be supporting additional cryptocurrencies and various other fiat onramps. FTX’s US platform will also offer margin trading for eligible traders.
Established in May of last year, FTX reportedly handles about $730 million in 24-hour trading volume. The derivatives trading platform has mainly served Asian markets (so far) and most of its staff works out of an office in Hong Kong.
Earlier this year, the FTX team had been planning to secure $15 million with a $1 billion valuation. The exchange introduced an equity token in February of this year.
Leading digital asset exchange Binance has invested in FTX’s operations.
