The US-based cryptocurrency platform FalconX closed a $150 million fundraiser led by the investment giants – GIC and B Capital, and its valuation surged to $8 billion.
Despite the Crash, FalconX Keeps Progressing
In a recent interview for Reuters, FalconX’s Founder and CEO – Raghu Yarlagadda- said his company’s valuation was less than $4 billion 10 months ago. The numerous funding rounds, including the latest for $150 million, though, had a positive impact, and now the trading venue’s total valuation has grown to $8 billion.
Yarlagadda asserted that the fresh capital will be distributed into new acquisitions, data analytics, and technology. The firm also intends to expand its services to clients from the credit and prime brokerage and trading sectors.
Apart from GIC and B Capital, which led the financing, other prominent investors included Thoma Bravo, Tiger Global Management, Adams Street Partners, and Wellington Management.
Unlike many other exchanges, such as CryptoCom and Coinbase, FalconX plans to expand its team with more people. Specifically, it is willing to add 55 additional employees, which would be a 30% increase in the total workforce.
“Over the next 12 to 18 months, we do expect a very volatile market. And given that volatility, we see very strong opportunities for acquisition,” the CEO explained.
Earlier this month, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – revealed similar intentions. CEO Changpeng Zhao argued that the current bear market is the perfect time when his company can welcome new people. A few days later, he doubled down on the ambitions disclosing that Binance is looking to strengthen its team with 2,000 individuals.
Exchanges Going Through Tough Times
It is worth mentioning that the decline of the cryptocurrency market has negatively affected many of the leading platforms.
For one, Coinbase said it will have to reduce the size of its team by 18%. The head of the trading venue – Brian Armstrong – explained the decision with the recession that is likely to hit the global economy in the following months:
“We appear to be entering a recession after a 10+ year economic boom.”
CryptoCom and Bybit are other examples of platforms that will lay off some of their employees. The former will dismiss 260 people (or 5% of its staff), while the latter did not disclose an exact number.
However, a spokesperson at Bybit assured that the affected people will receive certain compensations and support with their job transitions.
