Crypto Exchange platform FTX raises $420 million at a $25 billion valuation

FTX, one of the world’s leading global cryptocurrency exchanges, has secured $420 million in Series B-1 funding, bringing the firm’s valuation to the colossal sum of $25 billion.

According to the announcement, the round saw the participation of 69 investors, 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.

This new funding comes barely three months after the firm raised more than $900 million —the largest funding in the history of cryptocurrency, which valued the company at $18 billion at the time.

The funding also comes at a time when global regulators and governments are intensifying efforts against cryptocurrency activities. Chief Executive Officer of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, however, made it clear that the firm’s focus onward will be to further establish itself as a trustworthy entity by engaging more with regulators around the globe.

“We founded FTX two years ago with the idea of creating a better financial marketplace. 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 this round, we capitalized on those strides and were able to partner with investors that prioritize positioning FTX as the world’s most transparent and compliant cryptocurrency exchange,” he said.

Per the announcement by the Bahamas-based company, the fresh capital will be used to expand its operations to more jurisdictions, boost its product offerings and further cement its position as a major player in the crypto space. Earlier in October, FTX launched an NFT marketplace on the Solana blockchain for its US customers. A day later, rival Coinbase Global announced that it was launching its own NFT marketplace by the end of the year. In August the firm acquired LedgerX, the first crypto derivatives platform approved in the US.

Additionally, Ramnik Arora —Head of Product at FTX, said that the new capital will enable the firm to provide users with a premium experience, 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,” he added.

Commenting on the funding round, Olivia Steedman, a Senior Managing Director at Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP), said: “Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP) invests in innovative companies that use technology to help shape new categories. As a global, technology-driven innovator in the financial sector, FTX fits well with our mandate. We look forward to working with FTX’s management team in supporting the continued growth of the company.”

With a daily trading volume of $14 billion and a 48 percent increase in user base since its last funding round in July 2021, FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried said that the latest funding success was an attestation to the firm’s continued growth.

FTT, FTX’s native token is trading at $65.69 at the time of this writing.