FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that leading Australia based Retail FX and CFDs broker Pepperstone is “imminently” launching a new spot Crypto exchange in Australia.

In a panel discussion (pictured above) at the annual AusCryptoCon convention – one of the largest annual events for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry in the Southern Hemisphere which was just held in Sydney over the weekend – Pepperstone CEO Tamas Szabo (making his first AusCryptoCon appearance) said that Pepperstone will soon be launching a spot Crypto exchange in Australia, pending final regulatory approval.

Pepperstone has apparently been working on the initiative for over a year now.

Pepperstone’s move continues to blur the lines between “traditional” crypto exchanges, neobanks and neobrokers, and CFDs brokers such as Pepperstone. Over the past year we have reported mainly on the trend in the “other direction”, of crypto exchanges such as Kraken (which has just filed for an IPO) and Crypto.com getting broker-friendly licenses and hiring experienced CFD industry executives as they add non-crypto products to their trading lineup.

Tamas’ remarks at AusCryptoCon on the subject went as follows:

There’s huge adoption of crypto.

Pepperstone is just about to launch this digital exchange in Australia, imminently. It hasn’t been public. We’ve put a year’s worth of investment into it. We’ve hired a lot of staff, ready to go, we’re just waiting for our permissions to come through from the regulator.

I think there’s an opportunity. I do think there’s a “little bit of fat on the bone” in the exchange space, so I think there’s some competition that might come in.

About Pepperstone

Australia based Pepperstone is managed from world headquarters in Melbourne, led by CEO Tamas Szabo, and operates licensed subsidiaries around the globe. The company is privately owned by its senior management team and various investors.