Carey: Digital leader’s presence has power to turn economy around & put Bahamas back on top on world stage
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Businessman and real estate pioneer Mario Carey has lauded the arrival of cryptocurrency trading leader FTX in The Bahamas, declaring it could “catapult the country to the top of the world stage” and turn the local economy around in a duet of welcome dividends.
“When FTX, a leader in the crypto space [and] a company currently valued at more than $22 billion, chose to set up its first international headquarters in The Bahamas, it sent a message to the world,” said Carey.
“Not only did it demonstrate ultimate confidence in The Bahamas, its presence will open doors for global and local business, enhance lending opportunities through fund-raising and force banks and others in the financial services space to compete for their own survival or success.”
Carey compared the arrival of FTX, headquartered in Albany, to that of Sol Kerzner, the late founder of Atlantis, who took a tired property and turned it into a world-renowned resort that redefined what The Bahamas had to offer in the hospitality industry.
“FTX is the Sol Kerzner of the fintech world and its presence in The Bahamas should signal the formation of a financial union, providing a foundation of strength for persons and businesses across all fintech platforms to present a Bahamas unified force,” said Carey.
“That force will include marketing, training, certification, advocacy and a centralized resource as well as powerhouse. It will be where intellects in this new space will contribute ideas of all kinds and sew the moral fabric of the future.”
Carey called the presence of FTX “the holy grail of financial services that we have been waiting for.”
“The presence of FTX in The Bahamas says to the world this country is ready for the new world of finance,” he said.
“Kudos to The Central Bank; the Attorney General’s Office, past and present; for the attorneys who worked on this; and the developer and others whose combined efforts made The Bahamas the land of choice for the fintech of the future.
“FTX will wake up an anemic market in the midst of high liquidity and record demand for investment opportunities.”
Prime Minister Philip Davis officially opened the FTX headquarters in Albany in October 2021.
When FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried announced the trading company founded in 2019 was leaving Hong Kong and moving to The Bahamas where it would establish its first official global headquarters, the 29-year-old billionaire credited The Bahamas’ “progressive, comprehensive” legislation and framework regulating cryptocurrency.
He also noted the ease of travel and the availability of skilled professionals in the field that would make it easier on a move.
Most important, he said, was the legislation, noting that The Bahamas had readied itself for the “shift in the regulatory landscape” and was one of the few countries in the world to draft and pass a comprehensive crypto licensing bill.
For Carey — who launched Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate MCR Bahamas during the 2008 depression, created a success and topped off a 35-year career in real estate with his new company, Mario Carey Ventures — FTX represents a “roadmap to the future that will have deep connections directly or indirectly to all of us in The Bahamas”.
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