Crypto Exchange FTX Establishes Subsidiaries in Gibraltar and the Bahamas

FTX, a crypto exchange led by Sam Bankman-Fried, has expanded to two new jurisdictions: Gibraltar and the Bahamas.

By Scott Chipolina

In brief

• Crypto exchange FTX has received licenses in Gibraltar and the Bahamas for two of its subsidiaries.
• The news comes amidst FTT, FTX's native token, recently hitting an all time high.

FTX exchange has announced the expansion of the crypto exchange via two subsidiaries, one in Gibraltar and the other in the Bahamas. 

Zubr Exchange Limited, owner and operator of ZUBR, a Gibraltar-based digital asset derivatives exchange, has been authorized by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission to become a distributed ledger technology provider. 

FTX Trading Limited, owner and operator of leading global cryptocurrency exchange FTX.com, announced also today that its subsidiary FTX Digital markets was recognized as a digital assets business under the Securities Commission of the Bahamas. 

“We are committed to maintaining a close working relationship with local regulators so that together we can navigate putting a comprehensive regulatory framework in place to help promote the growth of this nascent asset class,” Bankman-Fried said in a prepared statement. 

The CEO and founder of FTX has made regulations a key focus of his company’s expansion of late. “Every time there’s a scam in crypto,” he told Business Insider, “that’s going to be pushed by regulators to lock down the industry more.” Bankman-Fried has also said that “this doesn’t need to be a war” with regulators earlier this month. 

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is one such regulator. Back in August, he joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren in saying that the crypto industry needs “rules of the road” and that it must “come within public policy frameworks.” 

Although Gibraltar and the Bahamas are much smaller jurisdictions than the United States, pivoting to these two countries would suggest that FTX is leaning into regulations rather than trying to skirt them. 

FTX’s ongoing expansion

FTX’s announcements come amidst the FTX token (FTT) hitting an all-time high earlier this month. 

On September 7, 2021, FTT rose to a record price of $83. This, in turn, followed the exchange launching its very own NFT platform for US users. 

In July, FTX raised $900 million that Bankman-Fried said would largely go towards future mergers and acquisitions. At the time, the exchange reached a lofty valuation of $18 billion.

 FTX has also made waves in the sports industry, after becoming the naming rights sponsor of Miami Heat’s stadium—the FTX Arena—in May of this year.