The US arm of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, has experienced exponential growth since its launch at the end of 2020. In less than 18 months, its user base has increased from 10,000 to 1.2 million.
FTX US president outlined the company’s long-term plan at World Economic Forum, including seeking approvals from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for offering futures options to its users and identifying what types of firms the company aims to acquire.
BTC & ETH Futures
Only days after announcing the launch of its stock trading services, FTX US unveiled its new plan of offering BTC and ETH futures. In an interview with CNBC, the exchange’s president Brett Harrison said the company has applied to offer BTC and ETH futures to US customers.
Harrison was confident that the plan to offer the first real-time 24/7 margin for futures would significantly improve the exchange’s potential profits.
“For most clearinghouses today, margin is done once per day, five days per week. We’re proposing to do this real-time, every 30 seconds, 24/7, and that is a novel aspect of our application.”
Harrison praised the watchdog as a “principle-based” regulator that understands cryptocurrencies, adding that the conversation has been positive so far, and he is hopeful about the outcome. Earlier, the company had acquired LedgerX, which has the CFTC licenses for running a futures exchange.
When asked about the company’s upcoming growth, the president commented on the recent push to enable users to trade and invest in hundreds of US exchange-listed securities, including ETFs. Seeing Robinhood as a successful example that channels equity retail investors to digital assets, Harrison said FTX aims to be an all-in-one investment platform for retail investors
Expansion via Acquisitions
Harrison said FTX US currently sits at the valuation of $8 billion, with good cash flow and sufficient capital to support its operations. He did not disclose plans for additional fundraising in 2022.
He noted that the exchange aims to utilize such resources to strengthen its existing business, fund its clearinghouse for derivatives-related services, and ramp up efforts for potential merger and acquisition opportunities.
Regarding the company’s plan for expansion, Harisson further noted that it remains open for acquisitions and mergers from multiple sectors. In particular, acquisitions that could bring in a new user base and obtain regulatory licenses will be what the company goes after.