decrypt.co
Crypto exchange FTX could soon launch its very own stablecoin, but would prefer to do so with a partner, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has said in a recent interview.
“I think you’ll probably be hearing something from us on that in the not-too-distant future,” the billionaire founder told interviewers on the subject of creating an FTX stablecoin.
Unlike more volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, a stablecoin typically keeps its price to a fiat currency. The most popular stablecoins, like Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
The FTX chief added that though the firm already has the know-how to make its own stablecoin, it’s a project the company would prefer to do as a partnership.
“We’ve held off on doing it because, I think to some extent, we think that cooperating on that can be really powerful and a lot of that ends with us trying to find the partners we’d be really excited to work with there,” said Bankman-Fried.
It comes a few days after he heralded the start of “the Second Great Stablecoin War” on Twitter, in response to Binance’s move to auto-convert other stablecoins into its own stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD).
At the time, he noted that positive interest rates now mean stablecoins offer more revenue.
FTX is “probably [one of] the largest unaligned players in the stablecoin ecosystem” right now, he added.
FTX, acquisitions and fundraising
Bankman-Fried also confirmed in the interview that FTX is considering another round of fundraising too, in order to fuel its acquisition spree.
With its current cash position of between $1 billion and $4 billion, FTX is “in a great position to do small and medium-sized acquisitions,” he said.
“If we want to do large acquisitions, and don’t want to spend all the cash we have on hand on that, then doing a raise would be very helpful for that,” he said. “At the same time as we are looking at possible acquisitions, we are also potentially looking at doing a fundraise.”
Asked if FTX would consider trying to snap up popular trading app Robinhood, as was rumored earlier this year, the crypto boss reiterated that a deal was not on the table.
“We could buy a company like Robinhood, but that's not what we're looking at right now. Our challenge is to continue to grow organically,” he said.
The interview also touched on whether FTX would consider following Binance’s lead and set up a European headquarters in Paris.
Bankman-Fried indicated that the French capital would be an obvious choice.
“To the extent that we’re looking for a place central to Europe—not just in terms of location but in terms of the role that it plays—it’s hard to get more central than France and Paris.”