Cryptocurrency Company FTX Raises $420.69M From 69 Investors

A leading cryptocurrency company completed a Series B-1 funding round that saw its valuation climb. Here are the details on the funding round and what’s next for the company.

What Happened: FTX, parent company to cryptocurrency exchange FTX.com, raised $420.69 million in a Series B-1 funding round.

The company was valued at $25 billion in the funding round.

FTX reported a total of 69 investors participated in the Series B-1 round. Investors in the round included Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and accounts managed by BlackRock.

The amount raised by the company was not lost on Twitter. 

“(We) were able to partner with investors that prioritize positioning FTX as the world’s most transparent and compliant cryptocurrency exchange,” STX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said.

FTX held an initial Series B in July 2021 raising $1 billion and valuing the company at $18 billion.

Related Link: 15 Under 40, 14 Over 90: A Look At The Youngest And Oldest Members Of The Forbes 400 List 

Why It’s Important: FTX said the new funding will allow the company to expand into new jurisdictions and help it establish itself as a “marketplace leader.”

FTX has a user base that is growing by 48%, and average trade volume is up 75% since July. The company has an average of $14 billion in daily trading volume.

FTX recently launched its new NFT marketplace, capitalizing on the growing trend of non-fungible tokens.

“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,” FTX Head of Product Ramnik Arora said.

Bankman-Fried joined the Forbes 400 list earlier this year as the youngest member with a net worth of $22.5 billion thanks to the July valuation.

FTX has announced partnerships with Trevor Lawrence, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Major League Baseball, the Miami Heat and Kevin O’Leary.