US subsidiaries of FTX and Bitstamp’s digital-asset platforms are considering adding stock trading to their product lineup. Bloomberg reports.
According to FTX US CEO Brett Harrison, the launch could potentially take place “in a couple of months.”
no firm date, probably a couple months
— Brett Harrison (@Brett_FTXUS) January 11, 2022
Harrison confirmed that this is not about tokenized [functionality implemented on the parent platform] or synthetic securities, but stocks.
actual vanilla stocks
— Brett Harrison (@Brett_FTXUS) January 11, 2022
Journalists could not determine whether FTX US would become a traditional broker or obtain status as a separate exchange akin to NYSE and NASDAQ.
In the initial phase, FTX US’s functionality will include stock screening, display of key fundamental indicators for companies, portfolio performance tracking, and detailed order/trade breakdowns.
Bitstamp USA plans to broaden its offerings to stocks, NFT and crypto derivatives. In an interview, CEO Robert Zagotta said the stock market is a “competitive space,” and substantial investments will be required.
Bitstamp could build the product in-house, with partners, or consider an acquisition. The latter would help “accelerate the initiative from a licensing perspective,” the executive said.
The agency explained that the plans reflect a move to reduce dependence on trading fees in the crypto market. If realized, they would face competition, including from online brokers eToro and Robinhood.
Following the publication, the latter’s shares fell 5.85% and continued to slide in after-hours trading. Quotes almost retraced their historical low. Since the IPO moment, the online broker’s market capitalization has fallen by 60%.
Binance did not confirm or deny Bloomberg reporters’ plans to add stock trading services, and Coinbase declined to comment.
As a reminder, since October 14, 2021, Binance ceased support for tokenized stocks under regulatory pressure.
Earlier ForkLog reported plans for PayPal to give U.S. clients access to stock trading.
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