Crypto exchange FTX US closes $400M funding round to reach $8B valuation

Chicago-based crypto exchange FTX US has reached an $8 billion valuation following new funding.

According to Reuters on Wednesday, the American affiliate of FTX closed a $400 million funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp, Temasek Holdings, Paradigm and Multicoin Capital.

FTX US president Brett Harrison said that this development puts their firm as one of the largest crypto exchanges in the United States, and sends a message to the world that they are growing very rapidly.

Harrison indicated that the firm will use the funds to further its offerings as well as to grow and expand its workforce. 

Back in 2021, the exchange made a sale-and-purchase agreement to acquire crypto derivatives platform LedgerX to expand its spot trading services by offering Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) options and futures contracts to investors.

FTX’s global exchange raised $420 million from 69 investors raising its valuation to $25 billion last year. At the same time, the exchange also pushed marketing efforts by acquiring naming rights to Cal Memorial Stadium and Miami NBA stadium.

Related: Institutional investment will boost Bitcoin to $75,000, says SEBA CEO

Meanwhile, funding for crypto projects continues to grow in other areas of the ecosystem. On Jan. 19, Secret Network announced a $400 million fund offer to developers building within its network. The new $225 million ecosystem fund along with a $175 million accelerator pool aims to back privacy-oriented and decentralized applications.

Venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz also announced its plans to raise $4.5 billion to invest in crypto funds. The firm would allot $3.5 billion for its venture capital fund and $1 billion to seed investments in the Web3 space. Alongside this, British payment platform Checkout.com recently raised $1 billion in investments to advance crypto payment processing, bringing the company’s valuation to $40 billion.