FTX Seeking $1 Billion Financing to Raise Valuation to $32 Billion, Reports

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX could be in talks with several investors, seeking to raise $1 billion, increasing the company’s valuation to nearly $32 billion.

According to a CNBC report, this billion-dollar raise would be the second of 2022. Some of the capital raised will be used to fuel other deals, such as buying other cryptocurrency exchanges that have been hit by the crypto winter. Until now, the exchange has not yet shared an official stance regarding such reports.

FTX has already invested in over 20 companies, including BetDEX, Paxos, Web3Auth, and Limit Break. It has acquired a  number of crypto startups, including Blockfolio, LedgerX, Bitvo, and Liquid Global. On the other hand, major firms like SoftBank, Temasek, Pantera Capital, Digital Currency Group, and Sequoia Capital have invested in the exchange.

FTX Is Prepared To Buy More Crypto Companies

A couple of months ago, Bankman-Fried, said during an interview that “they have a responsibility to seriously consider stepping in” to stop the contagion of companies that were filing for bankruptcy. Something he says they have done “several times in the past.”

However, beyond the entrepreneur’s good intentions, FTX is preparing to acquire crypto companies to aid in its expansion, as is the case of Voyager Digital, a crypto lender that filed for bankruptcy in July. FTX is competing against Binance for the acquisition of Voyager’s assets.

As CryptoPotato reported, FTX and Binance made $50 million buyout bids for Voyager Digital’s assets. The winner of the auction will be announced by September 29.

In addition to these acquisitions, FTX continues to expand in the U.S. through strategic partnerships with other companies such as GameStop, with which it signed a partnership today to become the preferred FTX.US retail gaming partner.

This was announced by Brett Harrison, president of FTX.US, who said they would leverage GameStop’s high traffic retail locations and web presence “to further merge gaming and crypto fans”.

Growing During the Crypto Winter

FTX is one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges that has managed to achieve significant growth throughout the year despite the adverse conditions, part of this is because FTX is a private company that is not publicly traded.

As a result, FTX managed to increase its revenue by more than 1000% in 2021, from $89 million to more than $1.02 billion. It is worth mentioning that in 2020 FTX’s revenue was just $14 million.

However, that year, the FTX conglomerate acquired its first cryptocurrency company “Blockfolio” for $150 million to offer the app’s trading services to American users, complying with U.S. regulations.

According to CNBC data, which was confirmed by FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the company earned about $270 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2022, unlike many competitors that have reported losses or even filed for bankruptcy.