By
Mayowa Adebajo
April 11th, 2024
Crypto exchange FTX is pegging new funding at 39% higher valuations from its October 2021 levels.
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is on an aggressive mission of fundraising and expanding its footprint in the global market. As per sources familiar with the matter, FTX is planning for an additional $1.5 billion in a new funding round.
This fund will help in supporting growth for its global crypto derivatives exchange and U.S. affiliate, FTX.US. As reported by The Information, the funding round will happen at an expected valuation of $32 billion. Similarly, the funding to FTX.US will arrive at a valuation of $8 billion.
As said, the FTX exchange has been on an aggressive spree of fundraising this year in 2021. The latest report comes just in over a month’s time after FTX raised $420 million in Series B1 funding in late October. Back then, FTX valuations stood at $25 billion. Nearly 70 investors including giants like Tiger Global and BlackRock had participated in the funding.
But the recent valuation at $32 billion shows that there’s a staggering 39% jump in just around the last 45 days. As FTX expands its footprint in the United States, it has recently shared a list of principles and proposals to help policymakers build the regulatory framework.
FTX’s Key Principles for Market Regulations
In its latest blog post, crypto exchange FTX shared its views on crypto market regulation after Maxine Waters, the chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, invited CEOs of different crypto companies to testify on the topic of digital assets as well as the future of finance.
Also, of the 10 principles shared by FTX, one of them includes recommendation calls for an alternative regulatory approach. This also proposes a unified regulatory regime for the spot and derivatives market. The official blog post from FTX mentions:
“The regulatory label on a given product or market need not change the core goals of regulation, and the same rulesets should generally apply across all markets.”
Besides, FTX explains the need for a direct membership market structure. This will thus allow entities to perform regulated trades without the involvement of any third party. Furthermore, the exchange demands better regulation with greater transparency from crypto custodians. It also notes that platform users should get better visibility into how these custodial services plan to address matters related to fraud and theft.
Interestingly, FTX also pointed out the need for regulating the stablecoin issuance. It added:
“A platform operator that permits the use of stable coins for settlement of transactions should be required to explain the standards the platform operator uses in deciding which stable coins it permits for such purposes.”
Back in August, FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried announced some proactive measures for the exchange to deal with KYC.