FTX Ventures Buys 30% Stake in Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital
The crypto exchange’s venture arm will help SkyBridge with both crypto and non-crypto related initiatives moving forward
SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci | Source: Monika Flueckiger/"Anthony Scaramucci" (CC license)
key takeaways
- The capital will help SkyBridge buy $40 million of crypto to hold on its balance sheet long-term
- FTX Ventures recently led the $300 million Series B round for Mysten Labs, which was announced Thursday
The venture arm of crypto exchange FTX is set to acquire 30% of alternative investment firm SkyBridge Capital, the companies revealed Friday.
SkyBridge, founded by Anthony Scaramucci in 2005, will use part of the proceeds to buy $40 million in cryptocurrencies for its corporate balance sheet as a long-term investment, with the remaining set aside to fund new initiatives.
An SEC-registered investment adviser, SkyBridge managed roughly $2.5 billion, as of June 30, including about $800 million in digital assets.
Scaramucci called FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried a “visionary” in a statement, noting that the business will remain a diversified asset management firm that invests heavily in blockchain.
The investment follows a partnership between FTX and SkyBridge to sponsor SALT conferences in North America, Asia and the Middle East, as well as to co-present April’s Crypto Bahamas conference, where FTX earlier this year pledged to set up a headquarters.
“We saw there was an opportunity to work closer together in ways that could complement both our businesses,” Bankman-Fried said in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating closely with SkyBridge on its crypto investment activity and also working alongside them on promising non-crypto-related investments.”
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. Spokespeople for the companies did not immediately return a request for comment.
The investment comes a day after FTX Ventures revealed investment in Mysten Labs, builder of the Sui blockchain. The fund led its $300 million Series B round, which valued Mysten at more than $2 billion.
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