In its latest funding round, FTX raised an impressive $420 million. This addition values the company at $25 billion. The funding round drew in 69 participants including investors from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital and Temasek Holdings.
The newest series B-1 round comes after FTX held the largest crypto funding round in history in June, which raised $1 billion. The company previously disclosed raising $900 million which put its value up to $18 million, Thursday’s B-1 round updated this total.
In a statement on Thursday, Bankman-Fried said, “Today we are focused on establishing FTX as a trustworthy and innovative exchange by regularly engaging with regulators around the world, and constantly seeking opportunities to enhance our offerings for digital asset investors.”
Bankman-Fried went on to say, “For this round, we capitalized on those strides and were able to partner with investors that prioritize positioning FTX as the world’s most transparent and compliant cryptocurrency exchange.”
FTX has said that the new cash injection will be used to fund the company’s continuing expansion, having recently relocated to the bahamas. The cash will also be used to address further market opportunities including equities, prediction markets, NFTs and videogame partnerships.
Earlier this month, FTX launched an NFT marketplace on the Solana blockchain for its US audience. The day after, rival company Coinbase announced a similar move that will launch at the end of the year.
In August, FTX acquired LedgerX, the first crypto derivatives platform approved in the US.
FTX launched in 2019, making it a newcomer in the crypto space. Despite its age, the company has grown to become one of the key players in the digital asset industry and its user base has grown by 48%. FTX now averages $14 billion per day in volume.
The company is well-known for its high-profile collaborations. Earlier this year, it signed a $135 million deal for the naming rights on the Miami Heat’s stadium, now called FTX Arena. FTX also partnered with Major League Baseball in June and became the first crypto exchange to sponsor professional sports.
