Quick take:
- FTX has acquired an operational license from the Cyprus financial regulator of CySEC
- The crypto exchange now has the go-ahead to offer crypto products and services across the European Economic Area
- FTX Europe will be headquartered in Switzerland with a regional base in Cyprus
- The exchange promises to work with regulators in the various European countries
The FTX crypto exchange will soon start offering cryptocurrency products and services to residents of Europe. This comes after the crypto exchange acquired an operational license from the Cyprus financial regulator of CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission).
FTX’s arm of operations in Europe will be headquartered in Switzerland with an additional regional office in Cyprus. This will, in turn, allow the crypto exchange to serve clients in the European Union via a partnership with a licensed investment firm that is yet to be named. FTX Europe will be headed by Patrick Gruhn.
The CEO at FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, pointed out that the exchange will make sure that they partner with regulators in the various European countries. He said:
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.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s words on working with regulators are particularly important given the current geo-political atmosphere after Russia invade Ukraine on February 24th and the sanctions that followed to pressure President Putin into rolling back the invasion.
Crypto-exchanges such as FTX, Coinbase, and Binance, have thus stepped up efforts to comply with the financial regulators in abiding by sanctions targetting Russian oligarchs. Officials and regulators in the US and Europe are particularly concerned that Bitcoin and crypto assets, might be used to bypass some of the financial sanctions imposed on Russia and its elites.