FTX US, the American affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has raised $400 million in Series A funding round.
The investment gives FTX US, which entered the US market in May 2020, a valuation of $8 billion, placing it among the world’s most valuable private crypto firms.
The funding round included investors such as 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.
Brett Harrison, President of FTX US, commented on the news: “FTX US scaled rapidly throughout the course of 2021, and our Series A valuation reflects both what we’ve concretely accomplished and what we’ve laid the groundwork for in 2022. We are thankful for all of our investors, many of whom have supported FTX from its founding, and look forward to working with them as we enter the next stage of our expansion.”
The company’s 2021 advertising featured famous athletes and sport stadium sponsorships. That coincided with enormous growth. Average daily volume soared by more than 600% on FTX US in 2021 — with total 24-hour volume peaking at $812 million in November — while user count increased to 1.2 million, Bloomberg reported.
In October 2021, FTX US has completed the acquisition LedgerX in a move to expand into crypto futures and options trading.
FTX, the global company, was set up in Hong Kong in 2019 by 29-year-old crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried. Several months ago FTX has raised $420 million in a new funding round valuing the company at $25 billion.