Crypto exchanges Gemini, BinanceUS poised for multibillion-dollar valuations in new funding rounds

It's fundraising season in the crypto industry.

Notable companies are seeking big funding rounds before the end of the year, riding the wave of private capital that has flooded the market since the beginning of 2021. 

Gemini, the crypto exchange run by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has been exploring a fundraise since the spring and is currently in the final stages of closing, according to two people familiar with the situation. 

The raise would value the exchange at $7 billion, according to sources briefed on the deal. A spokeswoman declined to share how much the firm plans to raise. 

Gemini, an institutional and retail crypto exchange, saw turnover nearly $7 billion in trading volumes this month, according to data collected by The Block. 

Gemini is not alone in its funding ambitions.

BinanceUS, which the New York Times reported was in the process of raising funds in August, is still working to convince investors to back a new fundraise. 

Prior to the exit of Brian Brooks, the former federal banking regulator who joined BinanceUS as CEO earlier this year, the firm was close to the finish line on a raise with a number of high-profile investors, according to a source. BinanceUS was launched at the end of 2019 after Binance closed its direct operations in the United States.

But the deal unraveled because Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao would not give up enough board control to make investors comfortable, according to a source.

The company is still trying to close the round but has run into difficulty because of its ties to Binance, which has been the subject of increasing regulatory scrutiny worldwide since the beginning of 2021. The Block can report for the first time that the firm is targeting a valuation above $3 billion. 

At the same time, Binance itself is also trying to raise funds, according to three sources, at a valuation in the range of $100 billion to $300 billion. 

Venture backdrop

In total, venture capital firms have poured around $17 billion into crypto firms from the beginning of the year through the end of Q3, as tracked by The Block Research. As The Block Research's John Dantoni has noted, the crypto funding market's hot streak continued into the summer, a typically quieter period for dealmaking.

The blockchain sector received nearly $2.1 billion in private investments during August.

Other big exchange deals this year include FTX's $900 million fundraise announced in July. Elsewhere, crypto financial-services firm FalconX scored unicorn status after announcing its Series C.