FTX’s venture capital unit is acquiring a 30% stake in SkyBridge Capital. The Anthony Scaramucci-owned Skybridge is getting deep into the crypto business vis direct token acquisition apart from investments in digital assets.
According to the filing, the new capital investment will be used for the company’s growth and buying $40 million worth of cryptocurrencies. The cryptos will show as balance sheet investments, according to a Statement by SkyBridge on Friday.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, said they were looking forward to working SkyBridge closely in crypto and non-crypto investment activity that would complement both firms.
Scaramucci is turning 60 next year. Though he intends to continue working, he does not want to be an overbearing figure clinging to SkyBridge. He said he was looking towards SkyBridge next decade.
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According to John Darsie, partner of SkyBridge, FTX and FTX Ventures do not look at SkyBridge becoming a complete crypto shop. Both partners Scaramucci and Darsie look at SkyBridge as a window to traditional finance. FTX is not a traditional asset manager, and they do not accept external funds. However, they get a lot of investment sourcing and deal flows, which SkyBridge will work closely on.
According to SkyBridge Website, as of June end, the firm managed assets worth $ 2.5 billion, out of which exposure to digital tokens is about $ 800 million. In July, the company stopped withdrawals by Legion Strategies fund as they had exposure to companies, including FTX.
Scaramucci said that FTX capital would help the company reach its goal of doubling the assets in the next two years and touch the $10 billion asset management within seven years.
FTX Ventures’ exposure to SkyBridge will help deepen the relationship between Bankman-Fried’s companies and Skybridge. The two firms launched a crypto conference in the Bahamas in April 2022 that included speakers such as Bill Clinton, former US President Tony Blair – EX UK Prime Minister, and football star Tom Brady. FTX, located in the Bahamas, is the presenting sponsor for all of Scaramucci’s crypto conference series, per a press release in June.
Darsie said that the idea is to make the Bahamas event similar to Allen & Co’s annual event in Idaho, attracting investments in entertainment, media, and sports.
The two entities did not disclose the terms of the financial deal. In June this year, Scaramucci referred to Bankman-Fried as John Pierpont Morgan, who has bailed out the crypto market and firms like JPMorgan did after the 1907 crisis.
Scaramucci said that SkyBridge’s business has continued evolving since it was founded in 2005. SkyBridge remains a diversified Asset management company who have invested heavily in blockchain.
