Cryptocurrency exchange FTX raises additional $400M at $32B valuation

The Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. today announced it raised $400 million in new funding in the company’s third fundraise in the past six months putting its valuation at $32 billion.

The Series C funding announcement comes less than a week after the announcement of $400 million Series A funding for the company’s American affiliate FTX US that valued it at $8 billion. According to the company the same investors participated in both rounds simultaneously.

“Our Series C financing round represents a milestone achievement for FTX, as we raised close to $2 billion in six months,” said Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive of FTX. “This round will support our continued mission of delivering innovative products and services to the marketplace as well as expanding our global reach with additional licenses around the world.”

The round saw participation from SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Paradigm, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital, Temasek, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, NEA, IVP and Insight Partners. This fundraise brings the total amount raised by FTX to $1.8 billion.

With these funds, FTX intends to continue to build out its global presence by continuing to adhere to regional regulations, said Bankman-Fried. FTX US has already gained the ability to trade derivatives such as futures and options in North America, but FTX itself does not operate in the U.S. As a result, the company’s intent is to expand into Western countries outside of the U.S. as much as possible with similar financial products.

“With the ongoing support from our dedicated investors and userbase, FTX will look to continue interacting with regulators to facilitate access to digital assets in a safe and compliant manner,” said Bankman-Fried.

Earlier this month, FTX launched its own $2 billion venture fund to back businesses and projects working in the digital asset ecosystem, especially those developing for web3, or what is known as the decentralized web with apps built on blockchain technology.

Since October, the exchange has had its userbase grow by 60% and its daily average trading volume increased by 40% to approximately $14 billion in daily volume. This made FTX the third-largest derivatives-offering crypto exchange in the world, according to CoinMarketCap.

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