Former head of FTX.US raises $5M from Coinbase, Circle for a new crypto startup

Former FTX.US president Brett Harrison is about to launch a new cryptocurrency startup to serve institutional investors.

According to Bloomberg News reportHarrison has raised $5 million from high-profile industry investors including Coinbase Ventures and Circle.

Harrison’s new company, Architects, will reportedly cater to institutional clients and provide access to both centralized and decentralized crypto markets.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Harrison said he hopes the architect will help the institution regain trust in the cryptocurrency industry.

Harrison said he struggled to secure venture capital after the FTX demise saw venture funding in the crypto space plummet by 75% in the fourth quarter of this year. Harrison’s close ties to FTX also made it difficult to secure the architect’s investment.

At the beginning of January report Harrison was seeking a $6 million investment at a $60 million valuation.

However, the former head of FTX.US has not disclosed the company’s current valuation. Most of the funding went to hiring, with Harrison saying he hoped to hire his former FTX.US colleagues.

The Architect product will be available in the second quarter of this year. Harrison said he hopes the software the company is developing will eventually be built into the Coinbase and Circle platforms.

Harrison’s platform was also backed by SV Angel, Third Kind Venture Capital, Motivate Venture Capital, and SALT, a fund managed by Anthony Scaramucci and his son AJ Scarammuci.

FTX’s investment arm acquired a 30% stake in Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital in September 2022.