CRYPTO EXCHANGE FTX OPENS ITSELF TO STOCK TRADING

Further blurring the line between digital and traditional assets, cryptocurrency exchange FTX now allows customers to trade stocks commission-free on its platform.

FTX has begun the service for select customers and will open the service to all users in the next few months, the company said.

The exchange will not clear customers’ transactions through high-speed traders in return for cash, a controversial practice known as “payment for order flow,” which has come under regulatory scrutiny.

Instead, FTX will lose money on stock trades, making up the loss from its profits from crypto trades, it explained.

Robinhood, Block Inc., and Public.com already combine trading in crypto and conventional assets, but FTX is the first company that began as a crypto “native” to blend the two services.

The exchange has plans to range even further, eventually offering customers the chance to buy and sell futures and other financial instruments. 

“We eventually want to offer an ‘everything app’ for financial services,” FTX U.S. president Brett Harrison told The Wall Street Journal.