FTX cryptocurrency exchange’s valuation has hit a record $18 billion following a $900 million funding round that closed Tuesday.
Coming at a time Bitcoin’s price crashed and now selling below $30,000, the second time in less than two months, the valuation shows the daring passion of investors in digital assets.
Founded and headed by 29-year-old Californian, Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX has experienced incredible growth since operations began in 2019.
In a press release on Tuesday, FTX said the $900 million funding round had participants including Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group Corp., Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital, and Third Point, the hedge fund led by billionaire Daniel Loeb.
Other investors named, comprised Thoma Bravo, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Altimeter Capital, BOND, NEA, Coinbase Ventures, Willoughby Capital, 40North, Senator Investment Group, Sino Global Capital, Multicoin Capital, the Paul Tudor Jones family, Izzy Englander, Alan Howard, VanEck, Hudson River Trading and Circle.
Despite banning Americans from trading on its main platform to avoid U.S regulatory sanctions, the funding round has propelled FTX to one of the top-ranking crypto companies globally, based on valuation.
The exchange’s $900 million Series B round, which comprised more than 60 investors, largest funding round in crypto history. In May, Circle raised $440 million, the previous largest round for a crypto firm. Earlier this month, the financial services firm announced its intention to go public in a deal with a special purpose acquisition company worth $4.5 billion.
In a bid to scale up its profile, FTX has been investing in sports. The firm had earlier in the year rolled out $135 million to acquire the naming rights of the now FTX Arena in Miami.
The firm also signed NFL star Tom Brady as its ambassador in a deal that saw Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bündchen, getting equity stakes in FTX.
