Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX Break Ground at their New HQ in the Bahamas 13

Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX Break Ground at their New HQ in the Bahamas

Summary:

  • Sam Bankman-Fried and the team at FTX had a groundbreaking ceremony for their new headquarters in the Bahamas
  • The event was also attended by the Prime Minister of Bahamas, Philip Brave Davis
  • SBF and the FTX exchange will be moving their headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas
  • The Bahamas is committed to becoming ‘the vanguard’ of the new digital asset frontier

Sam Bankman-Fried and the team at FTX officially broke ground at their new headquarters in the Bahamas, which will also double up as a campus. Sam and the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets in the Bahamas, Ryan Salame, shared the event on Twitter.

FTX HQ Groundbreaking Ceremony Attended by the Prime Minister of the Bahamas

Also in attendance was the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Philip Brave Davis.

Prime Minister Davis also shared the event on Twitter and expressed optimism about soon attending the FTX headquarters’ grand opening.

Prime Minister Davis Wants the Bahamas to be the Vanguard of Digital Assets

Prime Minister Davis is particularly focused on providing a well-regulated environment in the Bahamas for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Less than one week ago, he introduced his administration’s White Paper on the Future of Digital Assets in the Bahamas’ to the country’s parliament.

The whitepaper lays out plans for the Bahamas to become ‘the leading digital asset hub in the Caribbean and a global leader in the progressive regulation of businesses in this profoundly innovative space.’ Furthermore, Prime Minister Davis has a vision of transforming the Bahamas into ‘the vanguard of this new frontier.’ He said:

We cannot sit still. The old economic models are not a sufficient basis for dynamic, inclusive growth and prosperity.

Digital assets are going to have a transformative impact across the globe, and we believe that The Bahamas – and Bahamians – can be at the vanguard of this new frontier.

FTX New HQ Campus to House 1,000 Employees

According to a January report by the Nassau Guardian, the planned FTX headquarters and campus will cost up to $60 million and house 1,000 employees. The exchange will be moving its headquarters from Hong Kong to the regulatory-friendly country of the Bahamas.

The co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets in the Bahamas, Ryan Salame, also explained that the Bahamas was chosen as a headquarters, taking into account 21 criteria. He explained:

In the crypto space, the regulatory environment became a very important issue over the last year.

We essentially put every country up on a board. We went through a list of criteria that we were looking for to move the headquarters of FTX there.

First and foremost was a regulatory environment that we could operate in. We wanted a real regulatory environment, not a place to hide away. And so The Bahamas was a contender on that front.

Then we looked at quality of living, location, quality of government, these different aspects and throughout the whole list… The Bahamas came out on top.

[Feature image courtesy of Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis on Twitter, @HonPhilipDavis]