One of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX, has raised one of the largest rounds of financing for a digital assets company, in a signal of continued investor demand for the sector despite the recent drop in prices.
Speaking to the media, the firms’s Co-Founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, said they had raised $900 million from more than 60 investors, ultimately valuing the business at $18 billion.
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The latest funding round makes it the largest raise in crypto exchange history so far.
Some of the investors who particpated in the Series B round include:
- Sequioa Capital
- Softbank
- Paul Tudor Jones
- Paradigm
- Tom Brady
- Gisele Bundchen
A previous round of funding valued the Hong Kong-based firm at $1.2 billion in 2020.
Known mainly for its cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, FTX has quickly risen to become one of the main challengers to leading exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase.
Below are some stats are about the exchange so far:
- Launched in May 2019
- Revenues have increased over 10x in 2021 alone
- Revenues have increased 75x since its Series A funding round in mid-2020
- FTX has over 1 million users
- FTX averages over $10 billion in daily trading volume
FTX services a chain of crypto participants that include:
- Retail and crypto-native investors
- Sophisticated day traders
- Family offices
- Experienced institutional traders
An FTX spokesperson said the company’s annualised revenue was nearly $1 billion.
This round of financing comes after a boom in cryptocurrency trading in 2020, which has sent investors flooding into the sector.
Following the funding raise, Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO, FTX, said:
“We started out as a new derivatives exchange two years ago, and this round will help us continue to build out a bigger and broader vision for what FTX could become.”
– CEO, FTX
Recently, FTX paid $135 million to buy the naming rights to the Miami Heat basketball arena while also inking another multi-million multi-year deal to become the official cryptocurrency exchange for Major League Baseball (MLB).
In recent months, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have taken a tumble as global regulators increase their scrutiny, particularly on stablecoins and large exchanges.
“The world needs a high-quality, global crypto exchange that will co-operate with regulators. FTX is that exchange and has the potential to become the leading financial exchange for all types of assets.”
– Partner, Sequioa Capital
Interestingly, FTX CEO recently said that the exchange had bought out Binance share’s in its company, ending their investment relationship saying this was due to ‘some differences between how we run our businesses.’
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RECOMMENDED READING: The FTX ($FTT) Token Grows 10x in 2021 as Largest Token Burn Takes Place
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