Temasek-Backed Crypto Firm FTX Bags US$420 Million at Valuation of US$25 Billion
by Fintech News Singapore October 22, 2021FTX Trading, owner and operator of global cryptocurrency exchange FTX.COM, announced the closing of a US$420.7 million Series B-1 fundraise, increasing its valuation to US$25 billion.
The round saw the participation of 69 investors, including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.
The company also disclosed that in addition to the B-1 fundraise, Temasek had participated in the previously announced Series B, and updated the total amount of that raise from US$900 million to US$1 billion.
The financing round will allow FTX to expand into new jurisdictions and improve upon its current offerings.
Since FTX’s initial US$1 billion Series B round back in July 2021, the company said that it’s user base has grown by 48% and its average trade volume increased by 75%, now averaging US$14 billion per day in daily volume.
Since July, FTX established its global headquarters in the Bahamas and secured licenses under new regulatory frameworks in the Bahamas and Gibraltar.
Additionally, the company’s US-affiliate, FTX US, acquired digital currency futures and options exchange and clearinghouse LedgerX, and has recently launched a global NFT marketplace, FTX NFTs.
Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX said,
“Today we are focused on establishing FTX as a trustworthy and innovative exchange by regularly engaging with regulators around the world, and constantly seeking opportunities to enhance our offerings for digital asset investors.
For this round, we capitalised on those strides and were able to partner with investors that prioritize positioning FTX as the world’s most transparent and compliant cryptocurrency exchange.”
Featured image: Bloomberg
