Cryptocurrency exchange FTX says it has raised $420 million in a new round of funding, valuing the company at $25 billion.
The Bahamas-based firm said Thursday it raised the fresh cash from a total of 69 investors including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Singapore’s Temasek, BlackRock and Sequoia.
Specifically, the company said it attracted a total of $420,690,000 in its latest round, with the numbers “420” and “69” being an obvious nod to meme culture.
The investment is a top-up to FTX’s series B financing round in July, in which it raised $900 million at an $18 billion valuation. FTX said it also scored an additional $100 million from Temasek which was not disclosed at the time.
FTX is one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges, competing with the likes of Coinbase, Binance and Kraken. It specializes in derivatives and trading on leverage, the use of borrowed funds to amplify trades.
“We founded FTX two years ago with the idea of creating a better financial marketplace,” said FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
“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.”
The new round comes a day after bitcoin hit a record high above $66,000. Investors are cheering the launch of the first U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking bitcoin futures, a landmark move that pushes crypto deeper into the realm of Wall Street.
Bankman-Fried is something of a celebrity in crypto circles. He is also co-founder of Alameda Research, a quantitative trading firm, and has invested in a number of start-ups. According to Forbes, the 29-year-old entrepreneur is worth $22.5 billion, making him the richest person in crypto.
