Even long-term investors are being tested by the fall in the price of all major cryptocurrencies. Globally, the crypto market has shrunk from $1.02 trillion to $983.72 billion. Exchanges have suffered the most. Regional exchanges have resorted to freezing funds while Coinbase, a top exchange, had to infamously lay off 18% of its workforce. Even in these tumultuous times, FTX has been extremely active with acquisitions after its $32 billion valuation.
In a statement, the Bahamas-based crypto exchange said it has entered into an agreement to buy Bitvo, Inc., a Canadian crypto asset trading platform based in Alberta. Details of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022.
“Our expansion into Canada is another step in proactively working with cryptocurrency regulators in different geographies across the globe,” Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, said in the statement.
In January, the exchange raised $400 million at a valuation of $32 billion. To gain a foothold in the US derivatives market, FTX’s US entity raised $400 million and bought Ledger X, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated exchange.
As reported by crypto-data firm Kaiko, FTX surpassed Coinbase, its main competitor in the US, for the first time ever in May. Coinbase announced earlier this week that it is laying off 18% of its workforce due to a worsening crypto downturn. According to the news release, Bitvo is registered as a restricted dealer under the securities laws of all provinces and territories in Canada. Bitvo is registered as a restricted dealer under the securities laws of all provinces and territories in Canada, according to the news release.
Via this site Cryptocurrency Exchange Giant FTX Enters Canada with Acquisition of Bitvo – Bloomberg