FTX poaches Fidelity exec as crypto exchange nears NY approval

FTX, the $32 billion global crypto exchange, is gearing up to take on the final frontier: New York.

The digital asset exchange — which boasts investments from celebrities including power couple Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen — has hired former Fidelity Digital Assets executive Marissa MacDonald in its bid to obtain a license in the Empire State.

The exchange, which had already applied for licenses in the other 49 states, allows users to make complicated trades, purchase NFTs and use up to 20x leverage for trades.

New York is an infamously difficult regulatory environment to gain approval — and getting a foothold in this market would bring FTX services to an additional 20 million residents.

“We just recently submitted an application and we are in productive conversation with the New York Department of Financial Services staff,” MacDonald told The Post.

To submit an application to operate in New York, companies have to appoint a chief compliance officer and a board of directors. Bringing in MacDonald as chief compliance officer — who also served in that role at Fidelity Digital Assets — allowed FTX to apply for a trust charter with the New York Department of Financial Services, which will bring FTX US markets to New York. 

By the time the process — which can take as long as a year — is completed, FTX is expected to be operating in all 50 states.

The Bahamas-based company, which boasts ads with comedian Larry David and NBA legends Steph Curry and Shaquille O’Neal, has taken the crypto world by storm.

At the end of April, billionaire FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried hosted a conference in conjunction with Anthony Scaramucci’s SALT that brought in celebrities ranging from Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom.

FTX will now join more established players like Kraken and Coinbase in competing for New York crypto enthusiasts.