Crypto exchange FTX US expands its no-fee stock trading service to all US users, including non-crypto investors, and plans to offer options trading next
Crypto exchange FTX US is expanding its no-fee stock trading service to all US users, including non-crypto investors …
Context & Ripple Effects
FTX US is converting May's limited zero-commission FTX Stocks launch into a full-scale brokerage push: the service now opens to every US user, explicitly including investors who hold no crypto at all. The planned options layer sits on infrastructure it already owns via its LedgerX acquisition, a US-regulated derivatives exchange bought to expand futures and options in the States.
First-order effects
- Non-crypto US investors can now trade stocks fee-free inside the FTX app, putting the exchange in direct head-to-head competition with established zero-commission brokerages for equity order flow.
- The announced options roadmap gives FTX US a derivatives leg that most pure crypto rivals lack domestically, leveraging the LedgerX regulatory footprint rather than building one.
Second-order effects
- Binance.US, which moved first on price by eliminating spot bitcoin trading fees to attract new customers, faces pressure to answer on the equities side as well — the fee-free frontier is spreading from crypto pairs into traditional assets.
- Incumbent retail brokers must defend equity commissions they have already cut to zero, shifting their battleground toward payment for order flow economics, lending, and bundled services where FTX has less presence.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, US crypto exchanges consolidate into multi-asset 'super apps' spanning tokens, equities, and derivatives — a trajectory Binance's later move to offer thousands of US stocks and ETFs internationally makes explicit — blurring the regulatory and competitive line between exchange and brokerage.
The trend: Crypto exchanges are expanding from token trading into full-service multi-asset platforms, using zero fees as the wedge against traditional brokerages.