FTX Raises $420M From 69 Investors
- The $420 million Series B-1 funding round attracted a total of 69 investors, which valued the company at $25 billion.
- The funds will help FTX make some strategic investments in the future, designed to grow its business and expand its regulatory coverage.
Shutterstock
The operator of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.com, FTX Trading Ltd., has just closed a $420 million Series B-1 funding round, raising its valuation to around $25 billion, the company said in a press release on 21 October.
According to the announcement, a total of 69 investors were attracted by FTX’s new funding round, amongst which were Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners to name a few. The $420 million funding round comes only months after the company raised more than $900 million in its Series B — one of the largest raises in crypto history — which at the time valued the company at $18 billion. FTX’s CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, said in a statement:
“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 capitalized on those strides and were able to partner with investors that prioritize positioning FTX as the world’s most transparent and compliant cryptocurrency exchange.”
The newly acquired funds will help FTX “address other adjacent market opportunities”, such as equities, prediction markets, NFTs, and videogame partnerships. The company also expects to make some strategic investments in the future, designed to grow its business and expand its regulatory coverage. The company is still unable to provide services to New York residents.
The incredible growth FTX has experienced since its Series B funding round in July could be one of the reasons as to how it attracted such a large number of investors to its new funding round. According to the press release, FTX’s user base has grown by 48% in the last three months, and its trade volume has increased by around 75%, now averaging $14 billion per day.
- The IRS filed its claims against FTX under the “Admin Priority” classification, which could allow it to supersede the claims of other creditors in the bankruptcy case.
- The largest of the claims is against Alameda Research LLC, with the IRS claiming around $20 billion in partnership taxes and close to $400 million in payroll taxes.
Former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the Federal Court in New York after pleading not guilty, 3 January, 2022.
lev radin/Shutterstock
- The venture capital firm, which invested in FTX before its collapse, is reportedly exploring the possibility of injecting new capital to revive the bankrupt crypto exchange.
- Unnamed sourced noted that Tribe Capital was contemplating leading a $250 million fundraising campaign for FTX, to which it would commit $100 million.
- The assets were discovered and frozen during an investigation to identify any FTX and Alameda-related transactions on OKX, which was launched shortly after their collapse.
- The Seychelles-based also announced plans to expand its crypto services in Australia, and open a regional office in the country in the coming months.