During a press release on October 21, 2021, the owner of FTX Trading Ltd announced the closure of a Series B-1 fundraise. The fundraiser earned them $420 million. This amount increased the market valuation of FTX to $25 billion.
The series B-1 fundraising attracted 69 investors, including Sea Capital, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Temasek Holdings, and Sequoia Capital.
This round came barely three months after another fundraiser that closed at $900 million from investors. The series B fundraiser in June was recorded as the largest funding round in crypto history.
The company further disclosed that, in addition to the latest B-1 fundraiser, Temasek participated in the already closed B series fundraise. And updated the $900 million raised to $1 billion.
According to Sam Bankman, the CEO of FTX, they are trading at a volume of $14 billion daily and have experienced a 48% growth since the first fundraiser in June. He associates the success of the latest fundraiser with the continued growth of FTX cryptocurrency.
The CEO further reports that the raised funds will enable the company to expand its operations to jurisdictions, increase the amounts of products they are offering and solidify the status of FTX in the cryptocurrency world.
Making Things Right With the Regulators
Sam Bankman stated that the firm aims to create a better relationship with the regulators. They aim to present themselves as a trustworthy entity by opening their operations to different jurisdictions.
As they introduced the company two years ago, they aimed to create a better financial market. Their goal and focus still remain as they work towards offering their investors more digital assets.
Financial regulators are still pushing to regulate digital currency, which has affected the operations of the crypto market. FTX Company wants to rise above this challenge by focusing on investors who believe in their goal to boost its regulatory standing and compliance with jurisdictions around the globe.
In addition to becoming the world’s most transparent and compliant cryptocurrency, the Head of Product at FTX, Ramnik Arora, reports that the raised funds will also help improve user experience.
What’s more, they want to address opportunities in adjacent markets like NFTs, equities, video games, and prediction markets.
In related news, FTX launched an NFT marketplace for its investors in the US on the Solana blockchain; this is following a report by BTCManager on October 12, 2021.
A day after this report, their rival CoinBase Global announced their plans to launch an NFT marketplace by the end of 2021. In addition, FTX acquired ledgerX, the first approved crypto derivatives platform in the US.
Growth of FTX
FTX is a newcomer in the crypto market, launched in 2019. It has since grown and earned a place as a key player in the digital asset market.
Its user base has since grown by 48%, and trade volume increased by 75%, now averaging $14 billion per day. In the last two years, it has attracted high-profile collaborations. For example, they signed a naming right worth $135 million with Miami Heat’s stadium, now called FTX Arena. Also, it partnered with Major League Baseball in June.