FTX US Gets USD 400M Boost to Compete With Coinbase, Binance, Kraken & Co in US

 

The crypto exchange heavyweight FTX’s subsidiary FTX US raised USD 400m in a Series A investment round that it says values the firm at USD 8bn and adds fresh capital to compete with other American exchange rivals such as Coinbase, Binance US, and Kraken.

The funding round “is the first for FTX US,” the exchange said. And it appears that many of the company’s backers are repeat investors, some of whom last year pumped a combined USD 900m into FTX US’s parent company FTX. At the time, the latter claimed it was valued at USD 18bn.

The latest round saw “participation from” pension plans, venture capital players, the crypto investors Paradigm and Multicoin Capital, as well as Vision Fund 2, a branch of the Japanese tech investor SoftBank.

All three of Multicoin, Paradigm, and SoftBank were among the firms making FTX investments last year,

The list of FTX US investors included the following, “amongst others:”

Temasek, NEA, Tribe Capital, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Greenoaks Capital, Steadview Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

The company claimed the investment boost “cements” its “position as one of the highest-valued United States-based exchanges.”

It pledged to use the money to “continue accelerating its growth, expand its United States presence, and further establish itself as the largest crypto exchange in the USA.”

But in a nod to regulators, it claimed that it would be “maintaining strict compliance with existing regulations and supporting emerging regulations of crypto spot and derivatives markets.”

And it appears more crypto derivatives moves could come soon, with the company claiming its new funds will allow it “to further grow its user base, bolster its derivatives efforts and launch new business lines.”

M&A plans could also be in the pipelines, as the company explained:

“FTX US plans to leverage the Series A round to make strategic investments and acquisitions in key verticals and expand its network of partnerships.”

Meanwhile, West Realm Shires Services Inc., the owner and operator of FTX US, has announced today its business update for the 2021 calendar year. Among the points published in their press release, the company said that:

• average daily volume grew 608% in 2021; peak total volume of USD 812m during a 24-hour period on 11/10/2021;
• total spot crypto traded in 2021, the first full year of operation, exceed USD 67bn;
• and increased user count 11,900% over the course of 2021 to 1.2m.
   

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The article has been updated at 15:30 UTC with FTX US 2021 trading results.

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