Coinbase rival FTX U.S. valued at $8 billion as investors brace for 'crypto winter'

cnbc.com:

FTX U.S., the American affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, said Wednesday it has raised $400 million in its first external fundraising round.

The investment gives FTX U.S. a valuation of $8 billion, placing it among the world's most valuable private crypto firms. Investors in the round include Temasek, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and SoftBank's Vision Fund 2.

The deal shows that start-up investors' confidence in the nascent digital asset industry hasn't been shaken, even as the prices of bitcoin and other tokens have fallen sharply.

Bitcoin and ether, the world's two biggest virtual currencies, have both roughly halved in value since reaching record highs in November, while smaller tokens like solana and cardano have suffered even steeper declines.

The slump has led some to fear a more dramatic downturn known as "crypto winter" could be on its way. Brett Harrison, president of FTX U.S., said the market turbulence shows how crypto is a «volatile asset class.»

«Volatility cuts both ways,» he said. «With all of the large upturns that we've seen in crypto, we have to expect that there are going to be downturns as well. And we're definitely in that period right now.»

Harrison said the phenomenon is «not specific to crypto» — stock markets have taken a tumble as well. «I think that we are going to eventually see a bounce back,» he added.

FTX was set up in Hong Kong in 2019 by 29-year-old crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried. The wider company, recently valued by investors at $25 billion, has since moved its headquarters to the Bahamas.

Bankman-Fried established FTX U.S. as the American sister to distinguish it from his main exchange, as officials in Washington began taking a closer look at the digital