FTX Trading, a US-based company that built a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, received backing from more than 60 funders in its Series B round. AFP
FTX Trading, a US-based company that built a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, received backing from more than 60 funders in its Series B round. AFP
FTX Trading, a US-based company that built a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, received backing from more than 60 funders in its Series B round. AFP
A two-year-old company that built a digital exchange allowing investors to trade cryptocurrency derivatives is now valued at $18 billion, after securing $900 million from investors in its latest funding round – one of the largest ever achieved by a cryptocurrency company.
FTX Trading, based in San Francisco, said it would use the proceeds of the Series B round to accelerate its growth plans and expand its global presence. The late stage funding round represents a huge leap in valuation since FTX raised $40m from investors last year at a valuation of $1.2bn.
"It's our first large fundraise, but through it we've formed a hugely valuable set of partners. I'm excited to work with them to make FTX the best company it can be," said co-founder and chief executive, Sam Bankman-Fried. "We started out as a new derivatives exchange two years ago, and this round will help us continue to build out a bigger and broader vision for what FTX could become."
Mr Bankman-Fried is a former trader at Jane Street Capital, a company that uses quantitative strategies to trade equities, bonds and ETF markets. He founded FTX in May 2019 with ex-Google software engineer Gary Wang. Their aim was to build an exchange robust enough to be used by professional traders but easy enough for first-time users to manage, according to its website.
FTX now has more than one million users who complete an average of $10bn worth of trades through the exchange every day.
The company's Series B funding round attracted more than 60 investors, including Silicon Valley venture capitalists Sequoia Capital, Thoma Bravo, Ribbit Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Japan's SoftBank and China's Sino Global Capital also participated.
Derivatives are contracts based on an underlying asset – such as a share, commodity or cryptocurrency – in which the buyer and seller agree to a trade at a set price in the future. Traders can make and lose fortunes on cryptocurrency derivatives due to the volatility in cryptocurrency valuations.
Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, soared back above the $30,000 mark on Wednesday after a steep fall on Tuesday. It was up 5.75 per cent at $31,397.17 by 3pm UAE time. Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency, was up 8.44 per cent to $1,903.63.
In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority banned the sale of cryptocurrency derivatives to retail investors in October last year, citing the "extreme volatility in cryptoasset price movements", lack of a reliable basis for valuation and the prevalence of market abuse, among other factors. It estimated that retail customers would save about £53m as a result of the ban.
FTX expanded its range last year, offering trading on tokenised shares, contracts on pre-IPO shares and even prediction markets allowing traders to speculate on events such as the outcome of the US election – some 200 million contracts traded hands on the event, according to a blog on its website.
It plans to use the funds raised to develop other services including payment processor FTX Pay, a service allowing users to loan out crypto assets known as FTX Liquidity and a non-fungible tokens business.
"As crypto becomes more ubiquitous, FTX has the opportunity to build a next generation financial services brand, spanning exchange, payments and many other categories to come," said Nick Shalek, general partner at Ribbit Capital.
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700. The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers. The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
