In Brief:
- Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX moves HQ to Bahamas.
- The Hong Kong office remains active and for the time being critical operations will remain there.
- The move follows the recent crackdown of China on cryptocurrencies.
Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas.
In a statement on Twitter, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said “ The Bahamas is one of the few places to set up a comprehensive framework for Crypto.” He added that the country “has emerged from COVID lively, safe, and without quarantine.”
The exchange has successfully been registered by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas as a digital assets business. The company will operate under the name FTX Digital Markets. Along with the registration news, the company named Ryan Salame as the CEO of FTX Digital Markets. Salame formerly served as the head of over-the-counter at Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried will likely spend a significant portion of his time at the Bahamian office. The Hong Kong office remains active and for the time being critical operations will remain there.
The Chinese Government continues to crack down on crypto. Semi-autonomous Hong Kong is falling in step with mainland China. With the latest crackdown by China, FTX could face regulatory uncertainty in the future despite Hong Kong’s previously favorable environment. The Bahamas, on the other hand, has a framework for crypto firms already in place.
Bankman-Fried has also disclosed his growing displeasure with the strict quarantine procedures in place in China. He took to his official twitter handle to express his feeling about the country’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its travel restrictions.
“Who would have thought two years ago that a significant consideration for where to live would be “it’s actually legal to enter and leave the country,” Bankman tweeted.
