Behold, A new U.S. based crypto exchange is here!

Discussion in 'Crypto Assets' started by Trader Curt, Jul 21, 2021.

  1. Trader Curt

    Trader Curt

    Crypto Exchange FTX Valued at $18 Billion in Funding Round
    Investors include SoftBank, Sequoia Capital and Daniel Loeb’s Third Point hedge fund
    [​IMG]
    FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said the company plans to use its new funding to push further into regulated markets.

    PHOTO: ANTHONY KWAN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

    By


    Alexander Osipovich

    July 20, 2021 1:00 pm ET

    Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has raised money at an $18 billion valuation, a deal that shows investors’ enthusiasm for digital currencies even after a crash that erased half of bitcoin’s value over the past three months.

    FTX raised $900 million in a new funding round that closed Tuesday. Participants in the round included Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group Corp. , Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital and Third Point, the hedge fund led by billionaire Daniel Loeb, FTX said.

    The transaction vaulted FTX into the ranks of the world’s highest-valued crypto companies. It also provided a measure of mainstream acceptance for FTX, which bars Americans from trading on its main marketplace to avoid running afoul of U.S. regulators. FTX’s main office is in Hong Kong and its parent company, FTX Trading Ltd., is domiciled in Antigua and Barbuda.

    Other prominent investors in the funding round included hedge-fund billionaires Israel Englander and Alan Howard ; the family of another hedge-fund billionaire, Paul Tudor Jones ; and tech-oriented private-equity firm Thoma Bravo.

    The founder and chief executive of FTX is Sam Bankman-Fried, a California native who worked for quantitative-trading giant Jane Street Capital LLC before getting into bitcoin. FTX has grown rapidly since starting operations in 2019, making the 29-year-old Mr. Bankman-Fried a billionaire.

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    FTX’s main business is running a market for crypto derivatives—risky instruments that allow traders to place leveraged bets on whether digital currencies will rise or fall. FTX handles more than $10 billion worth of trades on an average day, according to data provider CryptoCompare.

    Lately, FTX has sought to raise its profile through sports sponsorships. Earlier this year, the company notched a $135 million, 19-year deal to buy the naming rights to the home of the Miami Heat. The stadium is now called FTX Arena. In June, National Football League star Tom Brady became an “ambassador” for FTX. As part of that deal, Mr. Brady and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, both took equity stakes in FTX.

    FTX says the sports sponsorships are aimed at promoting FTX.US, a crypto exchange catering to American customers that was designed to be compliant with U.S. rules. FTX.US offers traders a less exotic selection of markets than FTX’s main overseas exchange.


    The listing of Coinbase, the largest bitcoin exchange in the U.S., introduces a new way to invest in cryptocurrencies. WSJ explains how Coinbase is trying to distance itself from the risks of bitcoin to succeed on Wall Street. Photo illustration: George DownsTHE WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE EDITION
    In an interview, Mr. Bankman-Fried said FTX plans to use its new funding to push further into regulated markets. Potentially, that could include acquisitions of companies licensed to do financial activities in various countries, he said.
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    johnarb likes this.
  2. johnarb

    johnarb

    I read it added $9B to Sam's net worth. The 29yo was already worth $10B or something like that before the deal, but that might have come down a bit as some were from his FTT (FTX tokens)

    Sam's a workaholic, many pictures of him sleeping on the office floor of his HK office
     
    Trader Curt likes this.
  3. Trader Curt

    Trader Curt

    Yes, and from what I've read the companys exchange is valued at 18 billion right now, but their exchange token FTX is valued at 2.5 billion. So if this is anything like Binance the token has the potential to go up 8x. But then again a token is not a stake in the company either. But from the looks of it, it probably will go a lot higher
     
    johnarb likes this.
  4. ajacobson

    ajacobson

    Funny comment letter from the SEC site. For entertainment purposes only. Relates to Bitcoin ETFs.

    Subject: File No. SR-CboeBZX-2021-019
    From: Friends of Mary Shapiro and Jay Clayton
    Affiliation: Meme Stonk Fraudster

    June 16, 2021

    I sincerely hope the SEC approves this application just so they can have massive egg on their face when the DOJ/SDNY brings cases on the money laundering, wash trading and collusive practices amongst Bitfinex, Tether, Binance,Huobi, OkEx, FTX and other unregulated offshore exchanges.

    The SEC and US govt deem wash trading illegal, but due to their Chickens41t Club VIP status, they ignore multiple academic research papers stating Wash Trading is 70% (Cong/Cornell et Al) - 90% (Pennec) of the entire Cryptocurrency market.

    Why would the SEC not seek to pressure the US banking system, DOJ, OCC and others to completely cut off all of the colluding, market manipulating exchanges offshore? Because the SEC has been Chickens41t Club VIP since 2003. You can't even try to criminally charge companies committing clear fraud and just allow them to neither confirm or deny liability and pay a Chickens41t fine.

    I look forward to your unresearched and uninformed approval of this ETF. I also look forward to the SEC denying any part in being able to prevent the financial impairmemt of millions of unsuspecting investors when the market collapses.

    Please continue to do the job you are doing best, which is not regulating/charging/imprisoning large scale accounting fraud and corporate malfeasance. Instead please continue to go after the meaningless cases you don't have to work hard at.

    Actually going after companies,preventing and shutting down frauds, getting the DOJ to do there job (#1 VIP of Chickens41t club) and many other hard tasks leaves less time for golf and surfing unapproved SEC websites.

    Thanks for all the hard work letting the Golden Age of Fraud persist unperturbed, we are grateful for your service True American heros
     
    Nobert likes this.