Crypto exchange FTX US valued at $8 bn as first fund-raise draws SoftBank, Temasek

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX US said on Wednesday it had notched a valuation of $8 billion after raising $400 million in its first funding round from investors including Japan's SoftBank Group Corp and Singapore's Temasek Holdings.

The Series A funding also includes investments from crypto investment firm Paradigm and Multicoin Capital.

"What this raise means to us is that we are officially establishing ourselves on the stage of the largest competitors of cryptocurrency exchanges in the US, and signaling to the world that we are going to continue to expand very rapidly," FTX US President Brett Harrison said.

With the value of cryptocurrencies surging, surpassing $3 trillion in November, venture capital investors are increasingly looking to put down stakes in the industry.