FTX, the cryptocurrency group owned by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), is rumored to be looking to raise up to $1 billion, which would keep the company’s valuation at around $32 billion.
“CNBC” quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that FTX is in talks with investors to raise up to $1 billion in new funding, and the company’s market value is estimated at $32 billion, the same valuation as when it was last funded. FTX’s existing investors include: Singapore’s Temasek, SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global.
The specific financing scale and terms are still subject to change, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named.
An FTX spokesman declined to comment on the news.
As the global cryptocurrency craze hits, FTX generated $1.02 billion in revenue in 2021, an increase of more than 1,000% from the previous year. At the same time, FTX has also successfully expanded its global operating territory through a series of acquisitions and achieved amazing growth.
About two-thirds of FTX’s revenue comes from trading fees for futures and derivatives, and about 16% comes from spot trading.
FTX was founded three years ago by former Wall Street quantitative trader Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The 30-year-old CEO has recently aggressively bailed out financially troubled cryptocurrency companies, seeking to acquire distressed assets in addition to multiple loans that run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
In July, FTX signed an agreement giving it the option to acquire cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi and is in discussions to acquire South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. FTX also made a takeover offer to Voyager in August, but it was later rejected by the other party on the grounds that the bid was too low.
According to an investor report obtained by CNBC, FTX had revenue of $270 million in the first quarter of 2022 and is on track to generate about $1.1 billion in revenue this year. However, the cryptocurrency market fell into a cold winter in the first half of the year, and many companies in the industry faced losses and layoffs. As for whether FTX’s performance was also affected, it is still unknown.
