Crypto Exchange Binance.US Raises $200M-Plus ‘Seed’ Round At $4.5B

While some parts of the North American venture market may be slowing, crypto refuses to follow.

On Wednesday, Binance.US—the American franchise of Binance—said it has raised more than $200 million in a seed round at a pre-money valuation of $4.5 billion, making it just the latest crypto-corn.

Although large for a so-called “seed” round, the company says it is its first funding round. The round included investment by RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, Circle Ventures and others.

The round proves noteworthy for several reasons. First, it’s amusing when a seed round mints a unicorn. Second, it is the U.S. franchise of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance—which is led by the wealthiest man in crypto, Changpeng Zhao.

Lastly, it also shows investors’ insatiable appetite for all things crypto, even as uncertainty about both public and private markets swirl. In the first quarter of this year, North American startup investment fell by 11 percent quarter to quarter, according to Crunchbase numbers.

However, North American crypto startups raised a whopping $3.3 billion in 100 deals this year, according to Crunchbase. That actually is below last year’s numbers for the same time, but only because of two huge rounds raised by Robinhood shortly before its IPO. Minus those two rounds—worth $3.4 billion—VC-backed crypto companies in North America had raised only $1.7 billion at this same point last year.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

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