Crypto exchanges look into equities trading

Cryptocurrency exchanges FTX US and Bitstamp both announced moves into equities trading. Brett Harrison, President of FTX US, said new trading features could be rolled out within two months; Bitstamp did not provide a tentative timeline.

Why should we care?
Most trading-related expansions have involved enterprise companies or fintechs moving into blockchain-based technologies. FTX US and Bitstamp’s announcements buck against that trend—in part due to crypto’s volatility. Crypto exchanges make money off trading revenue; when trading cools down, like it is currently, these exchanges experience a direct hit. Offering stock and option trading lets platforms diversify their revenue streams, and entice users to migrate more of their financial lives onto one platform. It’s also important to interpret this news in the wake of Gamestop controversies, which saw Robinhood fall out of favor among meme stock traders, many of whom trade in crypto as well. Robinhood once dominated the crypto-stock trading nexus; FTX and Bitstamp can now fill the lucrative void through competitive services.