FTX Announces Plan To Expand Into Europe

FTX has announced intentions to establish a new European branch as part of its ongoing worldwide development strategy. As a result of authorization from the Cyprus financial regulator, the Bahamian-based cryptocurrency exchange will now be permitted to provide services to European consumers. In addition to access to futures, options, and volatility products, FTX Europe, the European Branch of FTX, will also provide customers in the European Economic Area and the Middle East with access to a variety of additional products.

When speaking on the European expansion, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of FTX, said the company is collaborating with authorities in many countries throughout Europe to ensure that individuals trading cryptocurrency continue to do so in a safe and secure environment.

 "As we continue to grow, we are constantly looking at opportunities to become appropriately licensed and regulated in every market we enter. We'll be interacting with regulators in various countries across Europe to continue to provide a safe and secure environment for people to trade crypto."

FTX Europe will be based in Switzerland and will be overseen by Patrick Gruhn. The island nation of Cyprus will function as a regional headquarters in addition to its current location in Switzerland. Additionally, FTX Europe, in addition to receiving regulatory clearance in Cyprus, will be able to supply its services as a result of a relationship with an unidentified licensed investment. Additionally, according to a business release, the newly formed subsidiary would allow the crypto exchange to shift its focus to markets in the Middle East.

FTX is looking to enter the European crypto market

For FTX, this is not the first time the company has attempted to break into the European market. The crypto exchange announced a collaboration with CM-Equity AG, a German financial services firm, in 2020, with the goal of launching tokenized stock trading on the platform.

In Cyprus, the exchange will devote substantial efforts to building a good working relationship with the proper regulatory authorities to enable Europeans to utilize FTX's trading platform to invest in a wide variety of cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related derivative products.

This comes after FTX, which boasts of a daily trading volume of $10 billion and over one million customers, secured $400 million in a January financing round that increased the company's value to $32 billion.

Recently, the company donated the Ukrainian war effort by offering $25 to each Ukrainian user on its platform, which they were free to spend any way they wanted.