FTX Raises $420 Million in Series B-1 — Crypto Exchange Commands $25 Billion Valuation

The digital currency exchange FTX Trading Limited announced the firm has raised more than $420 million in a Series B-1 fundraise. The capital raise follows the crypto exchange’s financing round at the end of July when FTX raised $900 million. After the raise was announced on October 21, FTX said the firm’s estimated valuation is around $25 billion today.

• On Thursday, the crypto asset exchange FTX revealed it raised more funds in a Series B-1 financing round. The company raised $420 million from 69 different investors.
• According to the announcement, FTX said Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners participated in the latest financing.
• Moreover, in addition to the $900 capital raise in July, FTX said Temasek participated in the original Series B round and pushed the raise up to $1 billion. With all the funding raised by investors to date, FTX’s overall valuation is $25 billion the company disclosed.
• “We founded FTX two years ago with the idea of creating a better financial marketplace,” Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX remarked during the announcement. “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,” Bankman-Fried said.
• On the same day as the capital raise announcement, Bankman-Fried also joined the board of directors associated with the NFT company Autograph, an NFT firm co-founded by the Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
• FTX says since the last capital raise in July, the company’s userbase grew by 48% and trade volume increased by 75%. The exchange noted it averages roughly $14 billion per day in crypto asset trade volume.

• The company also revealed it also recently established its global headquarters in the Bahamas. FTX secured licenses in the island territory and adopted the regulatory policies mandated in the Bahamas and Gibraltar.
• “The additional capital and group of investors will let us provide the experience our users deserve and address other adjacent market opportunities including equities, prediction markets, NFTs, and videogame partnerships. We expect to make strategic investments designed to grow the business and expand our regulatory coverage.” FTX’s head of product Ramnik Arora said in a statement.

What do you think about FTX raising an additional $420 million after raising a billion dollars in July? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.