FTX, a Crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, has closed its Series B funding round, drawing in $900 million from an array of investors.
The Series B investment round had over 60 participants. It includes Softbank, Sequoia Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin, VanEck, Sino Global Capital, and the Paul Tudor Jones Family. Instead of relying on an investment banker to organize, the FTX’s team worked directly with Paradigm, Ribbit, and BTIG.
Bankman-Fried, a 29-year-old billionaire, founded FTX in 2019. With the increase, FTX’s valuation has grown to $18 billion, making it one of the largest cryptocurrency companies in the world. Just a year ago, the exchange had a valuation of $1.2 billion.
According to PRNewswire, the funds will allow FTX to further expand its product offerings and user base. It will leverage the funds to further enhance its offerings and make strategic investments designed to grow the business. It will also look to further expand the network of partnerships it has for its FTX Pay, FTX Liquidity program & FTX NFT business lines as it looks to expand its presence and drive further growth.
FTX operates as one of the biggest crypto derivatives exchange businesses globally. It has an average of over $10 million in daily trading volume. Its revenues increased over tenfold this 2021 and 75 times since its Series A funding round. The firm has been highly active in acquisitions and branding. Recently, it bought Blockfolio, a popular portfolio tracking app, for $150 million.
In March, FTX got a 19-year naming rights deal to the home arena of NBA team Miami Heat for $135 million. The previous largest round for a crypto firm was a $440 million raise for Circle in May. Bullish recently also announced their plans to enter the public markets.
