Connecting EV with crypto, bridging Web2 with Web3
In mid-September 2025, Faraday Future—the electric vehicle company long associated with ambition outpacing resources—committed $41 million to transform a small biotech firm into CXC10, a publicly traded vehicle for cryptocurrency and Web3 ambitions. The move reflects a broader tension in the technology world: the search for new financing architectures when traditional capital markets grow impatient with long-horizon bets. By separating its EV identity from its crypto aspirations, Faraday Future is wagering that two parallel engines can sustain what one alone could not—though history reminds us that complexity, when layered atop uncertainty, rarely simplifies itself.
- Faraday Future is pivoting hard into crypto by effectively taking over a biotech shell company, signaling that its EV ambitions alone are not generating the capital momentum it needs.
- The rebranding of Qualigen Therapeutics into CXC10 is not a gentle evolution—it is a complete identity replacement, with FF and founder YT Jia seizing over 62% control through a structured PIPE transaction.
- Institutional names like Sequoia Capital, Circle, and Binance Labs-backed SIGN Foundation are lending credibility to what could otherwise read as a desperate pivot, suggesting coordinated conviction rather than opportunism.
- Leadership at CXC10 will be staffed almost entirely by Faraday Future executives, meaning the two companies will share a nervous system even as they pursue nominally separate strategies.
- The company's own disclosures flag regulatory uncertainty, volatile crypto markets, and unproven execution as material risks—acknowledging that the architecture of this deal depends on conditions no one can guarantee.
Faraday Future, the electric vehicle company founded in 2014, is making a dramatic turn into cryptocurrency and Web3 by investing $41 million into Qualigen Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotech that will be reborn as CXC10—a company dedicated entirely to crypto and blockchain infrastructure. The deal gives Faraday Future commanding control of the new entity, with roughly 55 percent ownership from its $30 million commitment and another 7 percent secured by founder YT Jia's personal $4 million investment. Together, they will hold more than 62 percent of CXC10 once the transaction closes and shareholders approve the rebrand.
The investor roster carries institutional weight. Sequoia Capital, SIGN Foundation—backed by Binance Labs—Circle, and IDG all participated, lending the venture a legitimacy that separates it from speculative crypto plays. Once the deal is finalized, Faraday Future's own executives will assume leadership of CXC10: Jerry Wang as co-CEO, Koti Meka as CFO, and Jia as chief advisor. Faraday Future will also hold board nomination rights, with the potential to control four of seven seats pending shareholder approval.
The strategic logic is that Faraday Future can pursue its EV ambitions—centered on the FF91 flagship and the FX line for middle-market buyers—without diluting its own shareholders, while simultaneously tapping crypto markets for new financing channels. Kevin Richardson, Qualigen's outgoing CEO, called the deal transformative, and YT Jia invoked the language of "Dual Flywheel synergy" to describe two growth engines reinforcing each other.
Yet the company's own forward-looking disclosures tell a more cautious story. Regulatory uncertainty around cryptocurrency, unpredictable capital markets, and unproven execution capacity are all named as genuine risks. The deal is structured, the money is committed, and the rebranding will proceed—but whether the conditions that make it work will ever fully arrive remains an open question.
Faraday Future, the electric vehicle company founded in 2014, is making a sharp pivot into cryptocurrency and Web3 by pouring $41 million into Qualigen Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotech firm that will soon shed its old identity entirely. The deal, announced in mid-September, transforms Qualigen into what will become CXC10—a company wholly dedicated to crypto and blockchain infrastructure—while giving Faraday Future commanding control of the enterprise.
The structure of the investment is deliberate and layered. Faraday Future itself is committing approximately $30 million at $2.246 per share, which will give the EV maker roughly 55 percent ownership of Qualigen's common stock. YT Jia, Faraday Future's founder and global co-CEO, is adding another $4 million of his own money, securing about 7 percent of the company and agreeing to lock up his personal stake for two years. When the dust settles and all shares are counted, Faraday Future and Jia together will control more than 62 percent of the rebranded entity. This is not a minority stake or a strategic partnership—it is effective control.
The financing round attracted serious institutional players. Sequoia Capital, the venture firm with offices across the United States, India, and China, is in. So is SIGN Foundation, a blockchain technology company backed by Binance Labs. Circle, which builds financial infrastructure for governments and capital markets, also participated. IDG, the technology investment conglomerate, joined as well. The breadth of the investor list signals that this is not a fringe bet but a coordinated push by established money into the crypto space, with Faraday Future as the anchor tenant.
Once the deal closes and shareholders approve the rebranding, the leadership structure will reflect Faraday Future's dominance. Jia will become chief advisor to the newly named CXC10. Jerry Wang, Faraday Future's president, will be appointed co-CEO. Koti Meka, Faraday Future's chief financial officer, will take the CFO role at CXC10. Faraday Future will also have the right to nominate two of five independent directors initially, with that number potentially rising to four of seven seats if shareholders approve an expanded proposal. The company will also retain participation rights in any future financing rounds.
The logic behind the move is straightforward, at least in theory. Faraday Future wants to focus its energy and capital on electric vehicles—the FF91 flagship model and the new FX line targeting middle-market consumers. But the EV business is capital-intensive and the path to profitability is long. By spinning off its crypto ambitions into a separate, publicly traded entity, Faraday Future can pursue both strategies without diluting its own shareholder base. The crypto venture gets access to new financing channels and the institutional backing that comes with Sequoia and Circle at the table. Faraday Future gets to tap into those same networks and potentially unlock value in the crypto space without betting the entire company on it.
Kevin Richardson, the CEO of Qualigen, called the transaction transformative and said the board voted unanimously to proceed. He framed the move as an embrace of "the new economy and technology." YT Jia spoke of "Dual Flywheel synergy and Dual Bridge empowerment," language that connects electric vehicles with cryptocurrency and Web2 with Web3—a vision of two parallel growth engines feeding each other.
But the forward-looking statements buried in the announcement hint at the real risks. The company acknowledges the "inherent volatility and regulatory uncertainty associated with cryptocurrency investments." It notes that the ability to raise future capital on attractive terms is not guaranteed. It warns that the company's ability to execute on a crypto-based strategy is uncertain, as is its ability to raise the funds needed to support it. These are not minor caveats. They are admissions that the entire structure depends on conditions that may not materialize—regulatory clarity that may never come, investor appetite that may evaporate, and execution that may falter. The deal is done, the money is committed, and the rebranding will proceed. What happens next depends on whether the crypto market and the regulators cooperate.
Notable Quotes
This strategic investment represents an important milestone in our evolution. I believe that FFAI will truly become a company powered by Dual Flywheel synergy and Dual Bridge empowerment—connecting EV with crypto, and bridging Web2 with Web3.— YT Jia, Founder and Global Co-CEO of Faraday Future
The company will be embracing the new economy and technology which will reshape the future. The board unanimously voted to move forward with this transformative transaction.— Kevin A. Richardson, CEO of Qualigen Therapeutics
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would an electric vehicle company suddenly decide to become a cryptocurrency company? That seems like two completely different businesses.
It's not that they're becoming a crypto company—they're creating a separate one and keeping the EV business intact. The idea is that crypto and Web3 could be financing channels that the EV business can't easily access right now. EVs burn through capital. If you can unlock value in a different asset class, you're not diluting your core shareholders.
But Faraday Future is taking majority control of this new company. That's not a passive investment. They're running it.
Right. They're putting their founder and their president and their CFO into leadership roles. So it's not really separate—it's controlled by the same people. The separation is mostly legal and financial, not operational.
What's the actual business? What does CXC10 do?
The announcement doesn't spell it out in detail. It says "crypto and ecosystem buildup for Web3." That could mean anything from trading to infrastructure to tokenized assets. The vagueness is part of the risk. You're investing in a direction and a team, not a concrete product.
And the investors—Sequoia, Circle, Binance Labs—they're betting this works?
They're betting that there's money to be made in Web3 infrastructure and that YT Jia and his team can execute. But the company's own disclosures admit regulatory uncertainty is a major risk. Crypto is still a moving target legally. No one knows what the rules will be in two years.
So this could be brilliant or it could be a way to park capital in a volatile asset while telling shareholders it's a separate bet.
That's the honest read. The structure protects Faraday Future's EV shareholders from the crypto volatility. But it also means the people running both companies are the same people, so the fates are still linked.