In brief
FTX has raised $400 million in a Series C round, which values the firm at $32 billion.
Last week, FTX US raised a $400 million Series A at a $8 billion valuation.
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX today announced that it has raised a $400 million Series C funding round, which now values the rising firm at $32 billion.
That’s a significant uptick in valuation from the last time FTX raised funds in October 2021, when it pulled in $420.69 million in a Series B-1 round at a valuation of $25 billion. Prior to that, FTX announced a $900 million Series B raise in July 2021 that was later revised to $1 billion, with a valuation of $18 billion.
FTX’s Series C announcement today comes just days after its FTX US business announced its own $400 million Series A round on January 26, which valued the U.S. arm at $8 billion.
In December, The Information reported that FTX was raising funds at those targeted valuations—$32 billion for the parent company and $8 billion for FTX US. However, that report claimed that FTX sought to raise a total of $1.5 billion between the two entities, and ultimately the combined total is nearly half of that at $800 million.
Even so, it’s clear that the fundraising was done as a joint effort. All of the investors in FTX’s Series C round also participated in the FTX US Series A, including Paradigm, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Tamasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, IVP, Tiger Global, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board.
All told, FTX has raised more than $1.8 billion over the past six months and boosted its valuation from $18 billion to $32 billion during that span. According to the firm, its user base has grown 60% since the October raise, with a 40% in daily trading volume to about $14 billion.
FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried told Bloomberg that the Series C funds may be used to fund mergers and acquisitions. In a release, Bankman-Fried also mentioned that FTX will seek additional trading licenses around the globe. Earlier this month, the firm launched FTX Ventures, a $2 billion investment arm led by Amy Wu, formerly of Lightspeed.
Bankman-Fried recently appeared on Decrypt’s gm podcast to discuss a variety of topics, including the impact of FTX’s sports marketing spending spree.
In 2021, FTX inked sponsorship deals with the Miami Heat, Major League Baseball, esports club Team SoloMid (TSM), and others, along with bringing in global ambassadors like Tom Brady and Stephen Curry. Bankman-Fried said that the sports sponsorship push has been huge for FTX in terms of anecdotal brand awareness, even if he doesn’t have the hard data to prove it yet.
“Everyone we talk to who knows us a little bit, or a lot, or barely, or intimately, this is top of mind for them,” he said. “Clearly this has penetrated more than everything else we’ve done combined, in terms of people’s perception of us. Not in terms of installs per dollar spent, though. So if that’s what you’re maximizing for, I don’t necessarily want to vouch for it.”
Source: https://decrypt.co/91599/crypto-exchange-ftx-32-billion-valuation
