The revenue of the popular global cryptocurrency exchange , FTX jumped by more than 1,000 percent to $1.02 billion in 2021 from $89 million in the previous year. According to CNBC, which revealed the figures, the growth was driven by the exchange’s global trading business.
Further, the crypto exchange generated $270 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2022 with expectations of bringing in around $1.1 billion over the entire year. However, the exchange did not confirm anything officially.
Established in 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried, a former Wall Street quant trader, FTX initially offered derivatives trading with altcoins but soon expanded in other areas including spot trading. Last month, the US entity of the global crypto exchange launched commission-free stock trading services in the country.
Though services of the US arm of the exchange are mostly highlighted, the US business generated less than 5 percent of the group’s total 2021 revenue.
Profitable
Additionally, the crypto exchange was profitable in the period, the report outlined. Its operating income for 2021 came in at $272 million, jumping from $14 million in the prior year. The net income of the exchange jumped from $17 million in 2020 to $388 million last year.
The audited documents further showed that the exchange spent around 15 percent of its total revenue on advertising and marketing last year. Its net margin for the year was 27 percent, while it was around 50 percent when marketing expenses were not considered.
FTX’s aggressive growth was propelled by raising retail demand for cryptocurrencies. However, the impact of the latest crypto winter on the performance of the exchange is not known.
Meanwhile, FTX is expanding its footprints in new markets through both extensions and acquisitions. The portfolio companies of the larger group now span across Cyprus, Germany, Gibraltar, Singapore, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
