Binance.US raised over $200 million in its first external funding round, putting its pre-money valuation at $4.5 billion. The company is targeting an IPO in two to three years, its CEO Brian Shroder said. This is the first time Binance.US has taken external investor capital, and no valuation has been shared publicly before, he added.
Bitcoin.US launched in 2019 as a separate legal entity from Binance.com, which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by transaction volume.
Binance.US is one of the largest digital asset exchanges by trading volume in the U.S. with a 24-hour trading volume of $306 million, according to data on CoinMarketCap.
Shroder claims Binance.US is not a subsidiary or affiliate, but part of the Binance (PC42) group of companies controlled by its founder, Changpeng Zhao, who is also a chairman at Binance.US. Moreover, Binance.US maintains legal and licensing agreements with Binance.com. “We have licenses for the core technology around the matchbox engine and then licenses for the name rights in the United States.”
The investors include RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, and Circle Ventures. Diversity and inclusion mission-driven firms like Gaingels, an LGBTQIA+/Allies investment syndicate, and Gold House, a nonprofit focused on enabling more multicultural representation and societal equity also joined the round.
Shroder said the capital will be used for growth.