By
Mayowa Adebajo
April 11th, 2024
After the unprecedented downfall of FTX last month, Amber guaranteed its clients that it had no exposure to FTX’s token FTT or Alameda Research. But it did not acknowledge possessing ten percent of its trading capital invested in the exchange.
Crypto trading company Amber Group revised its fundraising plans to raise a $300 million Series C round, in response to the fall of crypto exchange FTX.
The round was led by Fenbushi Capital US, in addition to other crypto investors and family offices. Singapore’s investment fund Temasek, famous venture capital company Sequoia Capital China and Coinbase Ventures have also formerly invested in Amber Group, which is explained on the information platform Crunchbase.
While less than ten percent of Amber Group’s trading capital was with the FTX exchange when it collapse, some specific products would have undergone massive drawdown as a consequence of the FTX fall, unless they could look for stronger strategies to safeguard the clients.
The trading company has now planned to shift from its struggles to introduce a Series B+ round at a $3 Billion valuation in favor of a Series C. Following the FTX downfall, Amber Group halted the Series B fundraisers and spontaneously moved to Series C. The trading firm has also fired forty percent of its staff, three hundred employees, and limited employee benefits while closing a $25 Million sponsorship deal with Chelsea Football Club after the FTX fall.
In a post on Twitter revealing the fundraiser, Amber Group acknowledged that it had bid adieu to several colleagues as it planned to lower mass consumer activities and unnecessary company lines. The Series C investors also decided to play along as they realized the company’s extremely streamlined vision.
The company, while announcing mass layoffs, also bought a Singapore-regulated crypto platform. The bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX has made its impact felt all over the crypto industry, worsening an already fragile market. Several firms including Bybit, have cut down their employee counts after a market slump that has persisted over months.
The majority of the capital raised in the Series C round will be used to refurbish all those clients who lost money on Amber’s product as a consequence of the failure of FTX. One such customer is a disturbed crypto lender Vauld’s Chief Executive officer Darshan Bathija, who has lost $130 Million on Amber’s product.
Established in 2017, Amber offered a broad range of services to institutional customers, from trading and liquidity services to making products.
After the unprecedented downfall of FTX last month, Amber guaranteed its clients that it had no exposure to FTX’s token FTT or Alameda Research. But it did not acknowledge possessing ten percent of its trading capital invested in the exchange. Recently, The Block also disclosed Amber Groups’ plans to backtrack from expansion opportunities in the US and Europe.