FTX – a crypto derivatives exchange formed by Sam Bankman-Fried – has reportedly obtained a record-breaking sum of $900 million, via a funding round. 

Specifically, the freshly secured funding by FTX reportedly shows a sign of venture capitalists moving past the market turbulence, and is going ahead with their goal of uncovering quality blockchain plays.

The Series B investment round reportedly witnessed the participation of a wide range of players, including Softbank, Sequoia Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin, VanEck, and the Paul Tudor Jones family.

The recently obtained funding will reportedly help the valuation of FTX jump to $18 billion, securing it a spot in the list of the largest names throughout the crypto sphere globally. In 2020,  the derivatives exchange had a valuation of $1.2 billion.

Established 3 years ago in 2018, FTX reportedly runs one of the most major crypto derivatives operations throughout the globe, with average daily volumes surpassing the $10 billion benchmark. 

With a Hong Kong-situated head office and parent firm in Antigua, the firm has reportedly been taking an active stance regarding acquisitions and branding, having purchased Blockfolio for $150 million in August last year. 

In March 2021, the exchange reportedly entered an agreement with the NBA basketball team Miami Heat which granted it the naming rights for the stadium in the next 19 years. 

Regardless of the recent turbulence in the crypto market, venture companies are reportedly still spending efforts to support crypto-centric startups with greater conviction. Nominally, Silicon Valley’s Andreessen Horowitz rolled out a $2.2 billion crypto venture fund in June, an unprecedented value.