Today, popular crypto derivatives exchange FTX launches trading of more than a dozen equity and crypto pairs, featuring top stocks such as Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, and Google.
The new "fractional stocks offering" is brought in partnership with Digital Assets AG and CM-Equity AG, the exchange said in a press release. However, traders in the United States and all of FTX's other restricted jurisdictions will not be allowed to access these equities.
“Both crypto trading and equities trading have been steadily attracting a wider audience with new market participants coming in,” Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, was quoted as saying.
According to him, these fractional stock products reflect "the reality that today’s traders are industry and sector spanning and want trading opportunities that fully match their interests and mindset."
The tokens will behave much like a depositary receipt or ETF (exchange-traded fund), Bankman-Fried told Bloomberg.
"FTX itself lists tokens on the equities. For instance, ftx.com/trade/TSLA/USD is a market to trade tokens on Tesla stock. These tokens are backed by shares of Tesla stock custodied by CM-Equity. They can be redeemed with CM-Equity for the underlying shares if desired. In the future, there may be other ways to withdraw the tokens from FTX," the company explained in their FAQ.
