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Divya Mathur
Sep 25, 2021

Crypto Exchange FTX Relocates Headquarters to the Bahamas

FTX headquarters Bahamas
Crypto-derivatives trading platform FTX has officially relocated its headquarters from Honk Kong to the Bahamas. The move comes shortly after FTX announced that its Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, has been registered with the Securities Commission of the Bahamas.

FTX Moves Headquarters From Honk Kong to the Bahamas

Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX is now headquartered in the Bahamas. 

The crypto trading platform, which was previously operating out of Hong Kong, had recently registered with the country’s securities watchdog as a digital assets business through its local subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets.

Aside from the registration, the firm’s Bahamian branch named Ryan Salame as its new CEO. Salame was previously working as the head of over-the-counter at Alameda Research. 

With regulators tightening their grip on the crypto industry, FTX seems to have found a haven in the Bahamas due to its pre-existing laws on cryptocurrencies. Bankman-Fried has also hailed the country’s “proactive stance” on digital assets while sharing the reasons for the move.

“We are committed to maintaining a close working relationship with local regulators to help promote the growth of crypto and we are further committing to providing all our clients with a safe, trustworthy and compliant exchange,” FTX spokeswoman Natalie Tien told Bloomberg on Friday. “As jurisdictions roll out comprehensive crypto regulatory regimes, we are excited to take part. In addition to this, we are prioritizing offices in jurisdictions without travel restrictions.”

Chinese Crackdown and FTX’s Exit

FTX’s exit from Hong Kong comes hot on the heels of China’s ongoing crackdown against the crypto industry. 

On Friday, the People’s Bank of China announced a blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining. The country had already outlawed crypto services in May, which triggered a mass transition of crypto-focused businesses to neighboring Kazakhstan and North America.

This time, however, Beijing is targeting the nascent asset class through a variety of measures, which require the cooperation of multiple government agencies, including the PBoC, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the Ministry of Public Security.

Crypto Exchange FTX Relocates Headquarters to the Bahamas
Divya is a postgraduate from Jawaharlal Nehru University specializing in International Relations and a professional writer with more than 5 years of experience writing for the web. She is an avid reader interested in the global financial system and the effects of decentralization. At Cryptoknowmics, she hopes to deliver clear and understandable content to inform readers about the latest events in the crypto sector.

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