FTX Ventures Merge with Alameda Research Venture Operations

Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Venture is set to merge with the venture operations of Alameda Research in a recent move to unify the billionaire’s empire in response to the prolonged winter. This is according to a Bloomberg report referencing an interview with Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison.

The news of the merger follows the recent resignation of Co-CEO Sam Trabucco stepping into an advisory role, thus making Caroline Ellison the firm’s sole CEO. According to the reports, no payment was involved in the deal and the two entities will operate independently.

The merging reportedly began in January after the exchange announced a $2 billion venture fund named FTX Ventures. After the merger, FTX Venture will concentrate on venture investing while Alameda will focus on the exchange, over-the-counter trading, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Both FTX and Alameda have collaborated on deals in the past. The companies had jointly offered to buy all of Voyager’s assets and loans but the bankrupt lender turned down the offer saying it was harmful to its customers. Both companies have continued to render financial assistance to troubled participants in the cryptosphere amidst market turbulence.

Alameda Research has supported over 150 crypto firms including Non-Fungible token (NFTs) marketplace Magic Eden and Crypto bank Anchorage Digital.

Sam Bankman-Fried denies merger reports

In response to the publication, the billionaire in a tweet called the report ‘a misrepresentation’.  Sam further said both entities were part of the same body although their operations are not entirely the same. 

The response from Sam left the crypto Twitter busy as several persons had their reservations.

Earlier in the week, FTX posted a $1.02 billion revenue for 2021 which represented a 1000% increase from 2020 when it did $89 million in revenue. The exchange is also projected to reach over $1 billion this year.

FTX has also made several acquisitions as it looks to build its subsidiaries to compete with other industry players. The firm has signed a deal that could see it acquire crypto lender BlockFi while it is also in acquisition talks with South Korean Bithumb.