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May 19, 2022 - FTX has announced the launch of FTX Stocks, an equities trading platform offered through the FTX US trading application. The launch will commence in a private beta phase for select US customers chosen from a waitlist.
FTX Stocks offers trading and investing in hundreds of US exchange-listed securities, including common stocks and ETFs, in an integrated experience within the existing FTX US cryptocurrency trading application. To provide transparent trade execution and fair pricing, FTX Stocks will initially route all orders through Nasdaq, and will not receive any payment for order flow. In addition, fractional share trading will be available in select securities.
FTX US President Brett Harrison commented, "Our goal is to offer a holistic investing service for our customers across all asset classes. With the launch of FTX Stocks, we have created a single integrated platform for retail investors to easily trade crypto, NFTs, and traditional stock offerings through a transparent and intuitive user interface."
FTX Stocks will offer its customers no-fee brokerage accounts, commission-less trading, and free market data and company fundamental data. The company says that this is part of its mission to, "democratise access to financial services". FTX Stocks will also eliminate minimum required customer balances and tiered account systems common among retail stock trading platforms. The release of FTX Stocks marks "the first time in industry history" that retail brokerage accounts can be funded with fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDC via a partnership with the FTX US crypto exchange, in addition to the standard USD deposit methods of wire transfers, ACH transfers, and credit card deposits.
Brett Harrison further commented, "There is clear market demand for a new retail investment experience that offers full order routing transparency to customers and does not rely on payment for order flow. As we grow the product offering and capabilities, we are excited to give our customers even greater choice for order execution, as well as the tools they need to make informed routing decisions."
Securities trading is offered through FTX Capital Markets, a FINRA member broker-dealer. FTX Stocks has partnered with Embed Clearing LLC, a new FINRA, DTC, NSCC and Nasdaq member clearing firm that specialises in providing white-label brokerage services to broker-dealers and registered investment advisors businesses. Embed will route, execute, clear and custody all FTX Stocks customer accounts and trades.
