FTX U.S. raises valuation to $8 billion in Series A funding round

• FTX U.S. is an affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, now headquartered in the Bahamas

• FTX U.S was established by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to distinguish it from his main exchange

FTX U.S. has raised $400 million in its first external fundraising round, increasing its valuation to $8 billion.

The latest funding exercise makes the American associate, of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, one of the most valued firms. The Series A funding round witnessed the participation of Paradigm, Temasek, NEA, Multicoin Capital, Tribe Capital, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Greenoaks Capital, Steadview Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, amongst others.

Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried set up FTX in Hong Kong in 2019. The parent company raised its valuation to $25 billion last October and has moved its headquarters to the Bahamas.

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FTX U.S. was established by the founder to distinguish it from his main exchange, as officials in Washington began taking a closer look at the digital currency market. Trading launched on the platform in May 2020.

Minting money

CNBC reported that the company facilitated more than $67 billion in spot crypto trades last year. It now has around 1.2 million registered users in total.

President Brett Harrison said in a statement he felt “confident that FTX US will emerge as the leading US-regulated crypto spot and derivatives exchange.”

 In a trading update Wednesday, FTX U.S. said average daily volumes on its platform grew sevenfold in 2021, peaking at more than $800 million in November after bitcoin notched a record high of almost $69,000.

The success of the FTX U.S. funding round shows that start-up investors’ confidence in cryptocurrency hasn’t wavered, even as the prices of bitcoin and other tokens have fallen sharply.

Also read: Crypto market shed $350 billion on weekend, weighed down by rate hikes, inflation

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