GIC, B Capital Lead $150M Funding for Crypto Platform FalconX
2022.06.22 18:20
By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com — The crypto winter hasn’t – yet – stopped the flow of institutional money into the digital currency space.
Crypto platform FalconX, which specializes in offering digital asset-themed services to institutional investors, said on Wednesday it had attracted $150 million in fresh capital, through a Series D fundraising led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and B Capital at a valuation of $8 billion.
Hedge funds Tiger Global, Thoma Bravo, Wellington Management, and Adams Street Partners also participated.
The valuation is more than double what FalconX achieved in its last funding round 10 months ago, when it raised $210 million at a valuation of $3.75 billion. As such, it stands out starkly from a trend of falling cryptocurrencies and collapsing lender networks that have dominated news in the space for the last few weeks. It suggests sustained institutional interest in an asset class despite the difficult short-term outlook for crypto adoption due to the rising trend in global interest rates.
FalconX said in a statement the fundraising came after its best ever quarter for signing up new customers “despite the volatile public and private markets.”
“This growth is driven by demand from a diverse range of institutional market customers who are looking for a reliable execution platform in volatile crypto markets, capital efficiency to scale returns, and strong risk management,” it said.
FalconX, which recently became the first crypto-focused broker to register with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, styles itself as a prime brokerage for institutional accounts which doesn’t itself take on market risk.
“We’re not in conflict with our clients and their trading strategies,” CEO and founder Raghu Yarlagadda said in the statement. “In light of recent market conditions, this is extremely valuable to our clients who demand a reliable market infrastructure provider.”
It nonetheless acts as a key liquidity provider to retail-focused platforms such as Apex Crypto.
