Crypto exchange FTX hits $32B valuation despite Crypto bear market

FTX, a major Cryptocurrency exchange, has hit $32 billion in value after the Bahamas based exchange raised $400 million in a new round of funding from investors, including SoftBank, Singapore-based state-holding company Temasek, crypto venture-capital firm Paradigm, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and NEA.

FTX was valued at around $25 billion in just October last year. It since has risen to $32 billion in four months, making it one of the fastest-growing Cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of value. FTX has also grown significantly in terms of new users. Since the last funding round in October, the company reported that the userbase has expanded by 60%, while average trading volume increased to $14 billion per day, a 40% jump.

The growth of FTX has surprised many due to the recent bear market, as the Cryptocurrency market is down by more than 40%, whereas the Nasdaq index is down by more than 12%. Despite the market, its userbase and daily trading volume have reported double-digit growth figures. In the year 2021, it grew by 600% in terms of the trading volume.

FTX’s CEO and co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, told CNBC in an interview, “I think we’re not entering a long-term crypto winter,” “There have been changes in expectations of interest rates, and that’s been moving crypto markets. But it’s been moving markets more generally as well.”

According to Forbes, Sam Bankman-Fried is now the 25th wealthiest person in America with a net worth of $17.1 billion. Bankman-Fried has also hinted at FTX going public, saying, “it’s something we’ve been talking about.”

One of FTX’s most prominent rivals, Coinbase, went public on April 14 last year. However, unlike FTX, Coinbase’s valuation has been shrinking and has so far declined by over 45% since it went public.

FTX has previously raised $420 million in October and $900 million in July last year. It also launched a $2 billion venture fund called FTX ventures earlier this year.