Recently, FTX officially announced its plan to commence stock trading activities on its U.S. branch. Following up its plan, representatives of the crypto firm were reportedly seen meeting different brokerage firms on the grounds of its potential acquisitions.
FTX Attends Meetings With Several Brokerages
FTX is a blockchain firm that deals in NFTs and crypto related services. However, the firm is now set to venture into stock trading and reports said it has started shopping for brokers to partner with. At least, three brokerage firms have been said to have hosted the firm in a closed doors meeting in the last few months.
According to the report, the proposed stock trading feature would be zero-commissioned and traders would have access to it via the FTX’s app. They would be able to fund their accounts with stablecoins pegged with fiat currencies.
A news source who preferred to be anonymous revealed that the firm had been helding private meetings with a number of brokerage firms in the past few months. It continued that the list of the brokers contacted includes Webull, Public.com and Apex Clearing. However, neither the crypto firm, nor the listed brokers have come out to defend the rumors.
Interestingly, the listed brokers are legalized firms under FINRA, SIPC. This suggests that they have no issue with the government regulatory agencies like the SEC.
Firms that are members of SPIC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) always insure their investors against financial crisis should they crash. Firms registered under FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) are permitted to trade stocks on behalf of their clients and also give investment advice to their customers.
On the one hand, FTX might be seeking the help of brokers to set up its proposed project. On the other hand, it might be looking to set up a long term partnership with any selected broker. However, nothing is certain yet.
FTX Founder Upgraded His Stakes In Robinhood
At the beginning of this month, the CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, remitted a document with the SEC agency which stirred many speculations. The document entails that he had increased his investment in the Robinhood to 7.6% which is worth $648.2 million.
Robinhood (HOOD) is a retail trading platform with a market cap of about $8.4 billion at the time of press. This depicts that FTX will need a massive capital to start a stock trading firm.
However, the FTX founder’s action of filing a document with SEC did not give many hints because it suggests that he is not planning to be directly involved in Robinhood’s activities. It also hinted that he currently won’t be performing any transactions with the firm. The only clear indication from the file is that he only considers it as a project worthy of investing in for a long term.