FTX Gets US$ 400M Increment to Compete With Binance, Coinbase, Kraken & Co in the US

FTX’s subsidiary FTX US, the crypto exchange powerhouse recently raised a whopping USD 400 million in a Series A round of investment that it argues values the firm at around USD 8billion and adds some fresh capital in a move aimed at ensuring that it effectively competes with other US exchange rivals that include Binance US, Coinbase, and Kraken.

The exchange asserts that the funding round is the initial move for FTX US, and it seems like plenty of the firm’s backers are investors who come back for more, some of whom pumped a combined figure of USD 900m last year into FTX US’s parent company FTX. The latter said it was worth USD 18 billion at the time.

The latest round witnessed participation from venture capital groups, pension plans, crypto investors Multicoin Capital and Paradigm, as a branch of Japanese tech investor SoftBank, Vision Fund 2. Paradigm, all three of Multicoin, and SoftBank were among those firms who made investments in FTX last year.

In the United States, the list of FTX investors from the country included the following, among others:

• Temasek
• NEA
• The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board
• Tribe Capital
• Steadview Capital
• Greenoaks Capital
• Lightspeed Venture Partners

FTX US claims that the investment boost does cement its position as one of the highest-valued US-based exchanges, and pledges to use the funds to “continue accelerating its growth, expand its United States presence, and further establish itself as the largest crypto exchange in the USA.”

FTX US however said that in a gesture to regulators, they would be “maintaining strict compliance with existing regulations and supporting emerging regulations of crypto spot and derivatives markets.”

As things currently look, additional crypto derivatives moves would soon be witnessed, with the firm asserting that its fresh funds will give it an opportunity to “to further grow its user base, bolster its derivatives efforts and launch new business lines.”

Mergers and Acquisition plans could also be in the plans, as the firm 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.”

On the other hand, the owner and operator of FTX US, West Realm Shires Services Inc., announced its business update for the 2021 calendar year. Among some of the points published in their press release, the firm said that:

• The average daily volume increased by 608% in 2021, and a peak volume of USD 812m in 24 hours on 11/10/2021.
• In 2021, that’s the initial full year of operation, the total spot crypto traded exceeded USD 67billion.
• There was an increased user count of 11,900% throughout 2021 to 1.2million.