FTX US Reveals New York Trust Charter Application

FTX US has applied for a trust charter with the New York financial services regulator as part of a push to allow it to operate in New York state and offer its products to local residents.

• A trust charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services enables digital asset companies to offer crypto trading and custody services in the Empire State. BitGo and Coinbase are among the firms to have been granted such a charter in the past.
• Trust charters grant fiduciary powers to recipients enabling them to manage their clients' assets and offer crypto-as-a-service products to other regulated financial institutions.
• The other route to regulatory approval in New York is to apply for a BitLicense. The BitLicense framework has drawn criticism for being stifling to innovation for its time and capital-intensive application and compliance measures.
• FTX revealed its application by appointing Marissa MacDonald as chief compliance officer for the FTX Trust Company. MacDonald previously held the equivalent position at Fidelity Digital Assets.
• FTX US, the stateside wing of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, raised $400 million in funding at an $8 billion valuation earlier this year. It had over 1.2 million users as of the end of January.

Read more: US House Panel to Weigh FTX Proposal on Clearing Customers’ Swaps Trades