After setting up shop in a temporary office in the West Loop, crypto firm FTX has moved its U.S. headquarters to a new space as it doubles down on Chicago.
FTX US announced Tuesday it has opened its new HQ at 167 N. Green St. in Fulton Market. It's the same building where FTX US resided when it came here in 2020, but on a new floor. 167 N. Green, a 750,000-square-foot building that was completed last year, is also home Foxtrot, WeWork and CCC Information Services. Snap is also reportedly eyeing space in the trendy Fulton Market building.
FTX US said the new 9,000-square-foot office houses 70 employees.
Its parent company, FTX, launched in 2019 and is based in the Bahamas. The company has become one of the most recognizable names in crypto, going up against Coinbase and Robinhood with its platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. FTX raised $400 million in January at a $32 billion valuation.
In 2020 FTX launched its American affiliate, FTX US, which itself has raised $400 million, valuing the business at $8 billion.
The U.S. office is led by President Brett Harrison, who told Chicago Inno earlier this year that the city is "an excellent place to build out a financial services company. It's quickly becoming a very good network for crypto and crypto companies."
Coinciding with the new office launch, FTX US also announced a new program with Mayor Lori Lightfoot where the company will give $500 per month in supplemental income to 100 Chicagoans, along with providing financial literacy education, a zero-fee bank account and other resources. The program is set to launch this fall.
It's part of the city's cash-assistance pilot program, which will provide $500 a month for one year to 5,000 Chicago households. More than 100,000 applications have been received for the program so far.
Relative to other cities, Chicago may not be known as a crypto hot spot. But some of the industry's heavy hitters have turned to the city for talent and office space.
Gemini, a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange led by the Winklevoss twins, signed a long-term lease at 1 S. Wacker Dr. where it plans to hire 100 employees. Chicago is also home to Jump Capital, a VC firm from Jump Trading, which last year announced a new blockchain investing division called Jump Crypto. Chicago-based Decasonic, led by tech veteran Paul Hsu, announced in January a new $48.8 million fund to back blockchain and Web3 startups. And Sfermion, led by Chicagoan Andrew Steinwold, raised a $100 million fund that's focused on NFTs and the metaverse.
