Antigua and Barbuda-registered cryptocurrency exchange operator FTX Trading completed a $900m series B round yesterday featuring internet and telecommunications group SoftBank, digital currency exchange Coinbase and blockchain payment technology provider Circle.
The funding was raised at an $18bn valuation from a consortium of more than 60 investors including quantitative trading firm Hudson River, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Thoma Bravo, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Bond, New Enterprise Associates, Third Point and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Willoughby Capital, 40North, Senator Investment Group, Sino Global Capital, Multicoin, VanEck, Altimeter and the Paul Tudor Jones family were also among the participants, as were private investors Izzy Englander and Alan Howard. Coinbase took part through corporate venturing vehicle Coinbase Ventures.
Incubated by quantitative trading firm Alameda Research, FTX Trading runs FTX.Com, a cryptocurrency exchange with more than 1 million users that handles some $10bn of trading volume a day.
The series B proceeds will be channelled into company growth and international expansion in addition to introducing new features and accumulating users.
Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s chief executive, said: “I am incredibly humbled by the support we’ve gotten. It is our first large fundraise, but through it we have formed a hugely valuable set of partners.
“I am excited to work with them to make FTX the best company it can be. We started out as a new derivatives exchange two years ago, and this round will help us continue to build out a bigger and broader vision for what FTX could become.”
Proof of Capital led an $8m round for the company in August 2019 that also featured Consensus Lab, FBG Capital, Galois Capital, Chris McCann from Greylock Capital and Edith Yeung from 500 Startups. Digital currency exchange Binance invested an undisclosed amount four months later.
