FTX Closes $900M Series B Round Valuing Exchange at $18B

$900 million is largest raise in crypto exchange history, according to FTX.

article-image

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO, FTX

share

key takeaways

  • Notable participants include Coinbase Ventures, Sino Global, Sequoia Capital, and the Paul Tudor Jones family.
  • FTX is the second largest derivatives exchange, according to CoinGecko data.

FTX, based in Hong Kong but registered in Antigua, announced today that it has raised nearly $1 billion for its Series B round, valuing the company at $18 billion. 

According to a release, 60 investors, most of them “crypto native”, participated in the $900 million Series B. Notable participants include Coinbase Ventures, Sino Global, Sequoia Capital, and the Paul Tudor Jones family.

CoinGecko data shows that the exchange processed roughly $5.9 billion in derivatives volume during the last 24 hours, with another roughly $1 billion in spot volume. During the past year the exchange has created new products like pre-IPO contracts, synthetic equities, commodities futures like oil and lumber, as well as election and event prediction markets. 

FTX said that it’s planning to use the funds to expand its product offerings and US presence. In June, FTX’s regulatory-compliant US subsidiary announced that it was opening an office in Chicago — home of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried has publicly said that FTX.US is looking to get licensed where it can, and the fundraise will be used to ensure regulatory compliance.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Bankman-Fried said that he’s trying to get the exchange “in a position where we could go public relatively quickly if we wanted to.

“But that doesn’t mean we think that now is the time to do it. Instead, we basically want to have that option if it does seem right, without having any immediate plans to actually take advantage of that,” he continued.

In March, the company announced it had finalized a 19-year, $135 million deal with Miami-Dade County in Florida to take over naming rights of the county’s Miami Heat’s stadium, formerly known as American Airlines Arena. Recently, in June, the exchange expanded its sponsorship of US professional sports when it signed a sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball.  

Also in June National Football League star and rising crypto influencer Tom Brady became an “ambassador” for FTX in exchange for an equity position in the company.

FTX’s eponymous token FTT, effectively a proxy for a public listing, reacted positively to the news rising approximately 5% according to CoinGecko. Binance’s token was down 6.8% during the same period, while Coinbase’s stock is up 1%. 

Tags

Upcoming Events

MON - WED, MARCH 18 - 20, 2024

Digital Asset Summit (DAS) is returning March 2024. What you can expect: And more! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be in the room when the future of crypto is decided. Join us and help shape the future of our […]

recent research

Research report - cover graphics-2.jpg

Research

Base has doubled-down on its commitment to the Superchain vision, has shown early signs of success with nearly $400M in TVL, and has become home to novel dapps such as friend.tech which has seen significant traction.

article-image

Certain creditors could be repaid sooner, with one hedge fund exec telling Blockworks it expects a payout by the end of the year

article-image

Busan is South Korea’s second largest city with a population around 3.4 million

article-image

Cyprus granted eToro crypto registration, setting the groundwork for the company to operate crypto services post-MiCa rollout

article-image

Sponsored

These are the best tools and practices you can leverage to defend against crypto market volatility

article-image

The agency alleges around 1,160 customers used the margin product, losing about $8.35 million since Oct. 2021.

article-image

On Thursday, the Securities and Futures Commission issued a statement disavowing any communication with JPEX saying that the platform is unlicensed