FTX Eyeing Acquisitions To Get Regulatory Licenses, More Users

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX US is scouring the global market for potential partnerships or acquisitions with local enterprises to secure regulatory licenses and expand its user base.

In an exclusive with CNBC last week, Brett Harrison, president of FTX US, revealed that the crypto exchange is more than financially capable to engage in mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

We are in a very good spot in terms of our capital and cash and want to be able to use that cash to bolster our existing business, properly fund our clearinghouse for our derivatives endeavors, and possibly look around the market for potential merger and acquisition opportunities.

When talking about the M&A strategy of FTX US, Harrison added that the company is on the hunt for enterprises that will help them grow their user account. Notably, FTX acquired an app called Blockfolio, which allowed its millions of users to track crypto. FTX acquired the company, absorbing the platform’s user base.

Furthermore, Harrison explained that FTX also wanted to get regulatory licenses through M&A. As an example, he brought up FTX’s acquisition of futures exchange LedgerX. At the time, LedgerX had several licenses from US regulators, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“Being able to get those [licenses] through the acquisition, it kind of gave us a head start on the process,” said Harrison. “We’re doing [this] globally, in places like Japan, Australia, Dubai – different places where we’ve been able to either partner with local companies or sometimes do acquisitions to be able to get licenses that we need.”

FTX US is only one of the few crypto giants that are looking into buying other firms to drive growth for their company.