Binance.US Valued at $4.5B in First Funding Round

Binance.US, the American arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange, has closed its first-ever funding round. The company has raised over $200 million at a $4.5 billion valuation.

Binance.US Completes Raise

Binance’s U.S. offshoot has completed its first capital raise. 

In a Wednesday blog post, Binance.US announced that it had completed its first funding round, raising over $200 million at a $4.5 billion valuation. The round attracted an all-star cohort of venture capital firms, including RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, VanEck, and Circle Ventures. The raise also comprised several diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused firms like Gaingels and Gold House.

Although this was the firm’s first capital raise, the company achieved the lofty 10-figure valuation thanks to the success of its parent company, Binance. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance held its last capital raise in 2018, which makes it difficult to value. However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who owns 90% of the company’s shares, is estimated to have a real-time net worth of over $65 billion. 

Binance.US has said that it will use the newly-acquired funds to enhance its trading platform, develop and launch a suite of new products and services for U.S. customers, and promote the Binance.US brand through educational initiatives. 

Like many crypto exchanges that offer their services globally, Binance has created a separate platform for U.S. customers to ensure it complies with local regulations. Since its inception three years ago, Binance.US has grown into a profitable standalone business and is the “fastest-growing U.S. exchange,” according to the firm’s CEO Brian Shroder. Although limited in its offerings compared to other U.S. exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance.US currently supports more than 85 cryptocurrencies and 190 trading pairs. 

Disclosure: At the time of writing this piece, the author owned ETH and several other cryptocurrencies.