- FTX grew revenue more than 1,000% year-on-year as the crypto market boomed in 2021, CNBC reported.
- Founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto exchange made $1.02 billion, per leaked internal docs.
- A host of acquisitions and an aggressive marketing strategy are likely to have fueled revenue growth.
Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX grew revenue by more than 1,000% year-on-year in 2021, according to leaked internal documents obtained by CNBC.
Revenue skyrocketed from $89 million in 2020 to $1.02 billion in 2021, as net income jumped from $17 million to $388 million over the same period, the documents showed, per CNBC.
FTX's apparent eye-popping revenue growth came on the back of 2021's booming crypto market. Cryptocurrencies rose across the board, and the price of bitcoin, the world's best-known digital token, reached an all-time high of more than $68,000 in November.
The "crypto winter" of losses in 2022 has been blamed in part on investors shunning high-risk assets, as central banks hike interest rates to curb sky-high inflation.
FTX generated about $270 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2022, CNBC reported the leaked documents as showing. It didn't give any figures for the crypto exchange's second-quarter performance.
FTX didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Over the last 12 months, the crypto exchange has bought stakes in LedgerX, a regulated exchange, and the trading platforms IEX Group and Robinhood Markets. It's also spent billions on acquisitions of failing crypto companies.
FTX has also employed an aggressive marketing strategy in a bid to win customers. Its sports push this year has included a Super Bowl ad and giveaway, and paying $135 million for the naming rights to NBA team the Miami Heat's stadium.
At the end of January, FTX said it had a funding round of $400 million that valued the exchange at $32 billion and attracted investment firms such as SoftBank, Tiger Global and Temasek.
