FTX (company)

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FTX
FoundedMay 2019; 2 years ago (2019-05)
FoundersSam Bankman-Fried
Gary Wang[1]
Headquarters
Nassau, New Providence
,
The Bahamas
ProductsCryptocurrency exchange, cryptocurrencies
Websitewww.ftx.com
www.ftx.us (United States)

FTX is a Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange.[2]

FTX is incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda and headquartered in The Bahamas.[3][4] As of July 2021, the exchange averages $10 billion of daily trading volume and has over one million users.[5] FTX operates FTX.US, a separate exchange available to US residents.[6]

History[]

MIT graduates Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang founded FTX in May 2019.[7] Before founding FTX, Bankman-Fried traded international ETFs at Jane Street Capital, a proprietary trading firm, and he founded Alameda Research, a quantitative trading firm.[8]

In August 2020, FTX acquired Blockfolio, a cryptocurrency portfolio tracking app, for $150 million.[9]

In July 2021, FTX raised $900 million at a $18 billion valuation from over 60 investors, including Softbank, Sequoia Capital, Third Point Management, Paul Tudor Jones, and Alan Howard.[10][11] Binance, a competitor which invested in the company in 2020, divested of its share in 2021.[12]

In September 2021, FTX moved their headquarters from Hong Kong to The Bahamas.[13]

On January 14, 2022, FTX announced a $2 billion venture fund named .[14]

In January 2022, FTX raised $400 million in Series C funding at a $32 billion valuation.[15]

On February 11th, 2022, FTX.US announced that the company would soon begin offering stock trading to its US customers.[16]

In February 2022 it was reported that FTX was reportedly creating a gaming division that will help video game developers offer blockchain-based technologies like cryptocurrency and NFTs into video games.[17]

Partnerships[]

The FTX Arena in Miami, Florida.

In April 2021, FTX acquired the naming rights to the Miami Heat’s basketball stadium in a 19-year, $135 million deal, fully renaming it FTX Arena in June 2021.[18][19]

On June 4, 2021, FTX announced a 10-year, $210 million naming rights deal with TSM, an esports organization, who officially changed their name to Team SoloMid FTX.[20] On June 23, 2021, FTX announced a partnership with Major League Baseball. As part of the deal, the FTX logo is featured on the uniforms of the umpires.[21] On June 29, 2021, Tom Brady, an American football player in the NFL, became an ambassador for FTX. As part of the partnership, Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen both took equity stakes in FTX.[22]

In August 2021, Kevin O'Leary signed on as official spokesperson for FTX, to be paid for in cryptocurrency which will be managed on FTX's platform.[23] FTX also paid $17.5 million for the naming rights to California Memorial Stadium for ten years.[24]

In September 2021, FTX announced a long-term partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team that adds the FTX logo to the cars and uniforms of both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.[25] Other FTX brand ambassadors include NBA player Stephen Curry.[26]

In October 2021, FTX ventured into Cricket by signing a global deal with International Cricket Council starting with the T20 World Cup held in UAE.[27]

References[]

  1. ^ "FTX raises $900M". inside.com. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  2. ^ "FTX Deal Gives Institutions New Access to Crypto Markets". Bloomberg.com. 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  3. ^ Ossinger, Joanna (24 September 2021). "Bankman-Fried's Crypto Exchange FTX Leaves Hong Kong for Bahamas". Bloomberg.
  4. ^ Osipovich, Alexander (2021-07-20). "Crypto Exchange FTX Valued at $18 Billion in Funding Round". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  5. ^ "Crypto firm FTX Trading's valuation rises to $18 BLN after $900 MLN investment". Reuters. 20 July 2021.
  6. ^ Hajric, Vildana (29 July 2021). "Crypto Exchange Competition Heats Up With FTX.US Growth Spurt". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-07-29.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "FTX raises $900M". inside.com. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  8. ^ Pongratz, Nicholas. "Sam Bankman Fried Explains His Arbitrage Techniques". BeInCrypto. BeInNews Academy. Retrieved 2021-10-07 – via Yahoo! Finance.
  9. ^ Dillet, Romain (25 August 2020). "Cryptocurrency exchange FTX acquires portfolio tracker Blockfolio". TechCrunch. Yahoo.
  10. ^ Kruppa, Miles (July 20, 2021). "Crypto exchange FTX secures backing from venture capital and hedge funds". Financial Times.
  11. ^ "Crypto Firm FTX Valued at $18 Billion as SoftBank, Ribbit Invest". Bloomberg.com. 20 July 2021.
  12. ^ Shen, Lucinda (21 July 2021). "Why did crypto exchange Binance exit FTX?". Fortune.
  13. ^ "Bankman-Fried's Crypto Exchange FTX Leaves Hong Kong for Bahamas". Bloomberg.com. 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
  14. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2022-01-14). "Crypto Exchange FTX Sets Up $2 Billion Venture Fund". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  15. ^ Browne, Ryan (2022-01-31). "Cryptocurrency exchange FTX hits $32 billion valuation despite bear market fears". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  16. ^ "FTX US Stocks are coming soon". FTX US. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  17. ^ Gariffo, Michael. "FTX's new gaming division faces an uphill battle in convincing gamers to buy NFTs". ZDNet. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  18. ^ Hanks, Douglas (June 2, 2021). "Miami Heat to play in FTX Arena after county approves $135M deal with crypto exchange". Miami Herald.
  19. ^ "It's Official! Miami Heat Home to be Named FTX Arena". WFOR-TV. 26 March 2021.
  20. ^ Browning, Kellen (2021-06-04). "A Pro E-Sports Team Is Getting $210 Million to Change Its Name". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  21. ^ "MLB, FTX cryptocurrency exchange partner". Major League Baseball. 23 June 2021.
  22. ^ Hajric, Vildana (29 June 2021). "Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen Take Equity Stake in Crypto Firm FTX". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-07-28.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ Nagarajan, Shalini (11 August 2021). "'Shark Tank' star Kevin O'Leary will get paid in crypto for his new role as spokesman for Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX". Markets Insider. Insider (Axel Springer SE).
  24. ^ Ossinger, Joanna; Hajric, Vildana (23 August 2021). "FTX Crypto Exchange Buys Cal Memorial Stadium Naming Rights". Bloomberg.
  25. ^ Conway, Luke (23 September 2021). "FTX Crypto Exchange Partners With Mercedes F1 Team". The Street Crypto. The Arena Group.
  26. ^ Chow, Aaron (11 September 2021). "Stephen Curry Announced as Global Brand Ambassador for Crypto Trading Platform FTX". HYPEBEAST. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  27. ^ "FTX announces global partnership with the International Cricket Council" (Press release). International Cricket Council. 13 October 2021.

External links[]


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