FTX announces Australian expansion as government sets out its crypto stall

FTX announced on Monday that it has established a local presence in Australia, marking the latest stage of the crypto exchange’s global expansion push. 

The announcement coincided with moves from the Australian government to refine its crypto strategy and introduce “badges of approval” for exchanges.

“The Morrison government wants to make sure that consumers can trust the exchanges that they use to buy crypto,” minister for digital economy Jane Hume said in remarks at the Blockchain Australia event on Monday, according to reports by ZD Net.

The remarks front ran a consultation paper published on Monday afternoon in Australia, entitled “Crypto asset secondary service providers: Licensing and custody requirements.” The government called for feedback and comments on the consultation, which closes on May 27. 

Monday also saw FTX unveil its latest regional office. According to a release, FTX Australia will be headquartered in Sydney, the financial centre of Australia. It holds an Australian Financial Services Licence and will act as the issuer of derivatives including options, futures and contracts for difference (CFDs).

Earlier in March, FTX also said it was set to push into Europe as it had secured approval from financial regulators in Cyprus.

The play for expansion follows a bumper fundraising round announced in January: a $400 million Series C that valued the crypto exchange-operator at $32 billion. That funding announcement came less than four months after FTX raised at a $25 billion valuation and just a few days after its US affiliate FTX.US announced that it had raised at an $8 billion valuation.