FTX.US, the United States-based affiliate of Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is acquiring crypto derivatives platform LedgerX for an undisclosed amount. FTX.US’ owner, West Realm Shire Services, announced on Tuesday that the company had executed a sale-and-purchase agreement to acquire LedgerX’s parent company, Ledger Holdings. The deal is expected to close, pending satisfaction of customary closing conditions, the firm noted. LedgerX is a digital currency futures and options exchange regulated under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Swap Execution Facility and Derivatives Clearing Organization. The platform is available for retail and institutional investors, allowing them to trade cryptocurrency futures with the …

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of crypto derivatives exchange FTX, has argued that derivatives are vital for the efficiency of the digital asset markets. In an interview with Forbes published on Monday, the crypto billionaire claimed that crypto derivatives are “misunderstood,” asserting that critics fail to recognize the vital role derivatives play in bolstering the liquidity and efficiency of markets. Derivatives refer to financial contracts that derive their value from an underlying asset or benchmark. Crypto derivatives in the form of futures, options and perpetual swaps have attracted significant popularity in recent years. Bankman-Fried described derivatives as “misunderstood,” adding: “People will note …

English billionaire and Moneysupermarket.com founder Simon Nixon has plans to increase his crypto investments through his London-based venture capital firm. According to a Bloomberg report on Thursday, Adam Proctor, managing director for Nixon’s investment firm Seek Ventures, said that the company intends to increase the “allocation to crypto as we feel it is an important area for the future.” Furthermore, Proctor said that Seek Ventures is currently on the lookout for an analyst who can lead this crypto-focused effort. Digital currencies are drawing the interest of family offices, according to Goldman Sachs, which stated that half of the family offices …

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid has secured $120 million in debt financing from FTX Trading after suffering a nearly $100-million hack last week. Announcing the news Thursday, Liquid Group and FTX Trading — the owner and operator of crypto exchange FTX — said that the new funds will help Liquid improve its balance sheet and contribute to the exchange’s licensing opportunities in the key jurisdictions of Japan and Singapore. The new funding also targets new capital generation, increasing liquidity, as well as improving Liquid’s customer support, the announcement notes. FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried said that the new financing underpins …

Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary has become an official spokesperson for Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange and will be paid in crypto and receive equity as part of the deal. According to a Tuesday announcement, the partnership with FTX Trading Ltd. and West Realm Shires Services Inc. (owners of FTX.US and FTX.com) will see O’Leary take an equity stake in both firms. The venture capitalist, also known colloquially as “Mr. Wonderful,” signed the multi-year deal to serve as a brand ambassador and spokesperson. He asked to be paid in crypto assets to increase his holdings. Finally solved my compliance problems …

Ongoing regulatory scrutiny has forced many crypto businesses across the globe to close up shop. Amid this crackdown, Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of prominent crypto exchange FTX, has been vocal about his continued efforts to adapt to the changing regulations around running crypto businesses, announcing FTX’s efforts toward finding systems for streamlining its Know Your Customer (KYC) operations. “As we mature as a company, we’ve been building out our checks, finding and incorporating more signals,” Bankman-Fried stated. He also highlighted the addition of a new feature on FTX that confirms a user’s jurisdiction based on their registered phone number. Bankman-Fried said: …

FTX is launching a nonfungible token (NFT) platform centered on sports and entertainment and has also stitched up a new sponsorship with professional esports league the League Championship Series LCS. According to Variety, FTX US is teaming up with Dolphin Entertainment to create a “large scale” NFT marketplace that will target brands within the sports, entertainment, gaming, esports and charity industries to name a few. We're beyond excited to team up with Dolphin Entertainment to create an NFT marketplace for major sports and entertainment brands—including film, television, music, gaming, eSports, culinary, lifestyle and charity industries. Dolphin Entertainment FTXhttps://t.co/RgKXuWfViF — FTX …

Running a successful crypto business requires close attention to the cloud of regulatory changes put forth by governments. Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of prominent crypto exchange FTX, featured in a CNBC International interview to discuss his efforts on this front. During the conversation, Bankman-Fried highlighted FTX’s efforts to stay on top of the changing regulatory landscape. As a part of this move, the entrepreneur shared his company’s drive toward applying for licenses across numerous jurisdictions. Pointing out the need to be responsive to changing regulatory landscapes, he added: “I’m spending five hours a day on everything from regulation to licensing and …

The Blockfolio brand is no more: One of the first genuine product brands in the cryptocurrency space, the mobile app that started as a portfolio tracker — and later morphed into a trading app under the stewardship of FTX — will now take its new owner's name. Blockfolio, which boasted a user base in excess of six million crypto enthusiasts, was acquired by Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX Trading company in August 2020 in a deal worth $150 million. Related: Billionaire SBF says FTX may one day buy Goldman Sachs and CME “The rebrand of FTX: Blockfolio to FTX puts the final …

Crypto derivatives exchange FTX has decided to curb risky trading by limiting the leverage available to its users. The exchange, founded by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, has reduced the maximum leverage available on the platform down to 20x, a significant reduction from its previous limit of 101x. In a Sunday tweet announcing the updated leverage limits, Bankman-Fried said that the decision was made in light of the exchange’s efforts to “encourage responsible trading.” He asserted that leveraged trading is not a significant part of the exchange’s overall volumes, estimating the average open margin position on FTX is leveraged by roughly …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) painful plunge below $30,000 on Tuesday turned into a so-called “buy the dip” opportunity for Alameda Research, a Hong Kong-based quantitative trading firm and liquidity solutions firm headed by FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Quantitative trader Sam Trabucco revealed late Tuesday that the company purchased Bitcoin during its latest price decline, adding that the company’s cautious strategy to go long BTC/USD surfaced out of at least three “recovery” catalysts: a potential end to the ongoing crypto FUD (China ban, Grayscale epic unlock, etc.), the stock market’s intraday recovery, and weaker long liquidations in the derivatives market. “In …

FTX, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, has closed a $900 million funding round, highlighting once again that venture capitalists are shrugging off market turmoil in their quest to uncover quality blockchain plays. The Series B investment round had over 60 participants, including Softbank, Sequoia Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin, VanEck and the Paul Tudor Jones family. With the raise, FTX’s valuation has grown to $18 billion, making it one of the largest cryptocurrency companies in the world. Just one year ago, the derivatives exchange had a valuation of $1.2 billion. Related: FTX crypto exchange integrates institutional trading tool …