Binance.US is raising an additional $50 million, CoinDesk reports

Companies • June 21, 2022, 4:12PM EDT

Binance.US, the stateside arm of crypto exchange Binance, is looking to raise up to $50 million at a $4.5 billion valuation, CoinDesk reported on Tuesday.

The upcoming round won't necessarily represent a Series A but would amount to a continuation of its seed round, people familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. The firm plans to target strategic partners.

Binance.US closed its first funding round at a pre-money valuation of $4.5 billion in April of this year. The $200 million seed round saw participation from the likes of RRE Ventures, Foundation Capital, Original Capital, VanEck, Circle Ventures, Gaingels and Gold House, though there was no lead investor.

At the time of the seed round, a spokesperson told The Block that Binance.US planned to raise more funds in the coming months and hopes to go public in the next two to three years.

CEO Brian Shroder teased the new funding last week in an interview with Protocol, saying it would announce another fundraising close in the next month or so. At the time, he told Protocol that he wants to make clear that the exchange is doing fine amid the wider crypto drawback and is entering a potential crypto winter "from a position of strength."

Binance.US was not immediately available for comment.

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Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.