FTX Trading, owner and operator of global cryptocurrency exchange FTX.com, has seen its valuation climb to $25 billion following the successful closing of Series B-1 funding worth $420 million.
Approximately 70 investors participated in the round, 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.
On top of the B-1 fundraise, FTX disclosed that Temasek had also participated in the previously announced Series B round, updating the total amount of that raise from $900 million to $1 billion.
This latest financing, which comes only three months after its Series B round in July 2021, will allow FTX to expand into new jurisdictions and improve upon its current offerings.
“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 video-game partnerships,” said Ramnik Arora, head of product at FTX.
“We expect to make strategic investments designed to grow the business and expand our regulatory coverage.”
Since its initial $1 billion Series B round, FTX has seen significant growth, with the company’s user base growing 48% and its average trade volume increasing 75%, averaging $14 billion per day in daily volume.
FTX has also established its global headquarters in the Bahamas and secured licenses under new regulatory frameworks in the Bahamas and Gibraltar.
In addition, its US-affiliate, FTX US, recently launched a global NFT marketplace called FTX NFTs. It also acquired LedgerX, the CFTC-regulated digital currency futures and options exchange and clearinghouse.
“We founded FTX two years ago with the idea of creating a better financial marketplace,” said Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and chief executive of FTX. “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 its latest B-1 funding round, Bankman-Fried said it capitalised on those strides and was able to partner with investors that prioritise positioning FTX as the world’s most transparent and compliant cryptocurrency exchange.