VALR, one of South Africa’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, announced today that it has raised R57-million (US$3.4-million) to advance the adoption of cryptocurrencies.
The Series A equity round of funding was led by 100x Ventures, (the investment arm of 100x Group who are behind cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform BitMEX), with participation from 4DiCapital, and FNB CEO Michael Jordan and US-based company Bittrex.
No ad to show here.
VALR has raised R57-million in funding
Founded in 2018, VALR was established to bridge the gap between the traditional financial system and the new world of cryptocurrencies. In June 2019, VALR launched bitcoin-rand trading and has since grown to become one of South Africa’s leading bitcoin trading platforms. VALR claims to offer it’s over 40 000 customers the ability to buy and sell more than 50 cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and ether, at the lowest fees in the market.
Farzam Ehsani, VALR CEO and co-founder comments on the funds raised.
“I am very grateful that despite the challenging global COVID-19 pandemic that has adversely affected many businesses around the world, VALR has been able to grow at a phenomenal pace and we’ve been able to raise funds and partner with a set of world-class investors, adding to our already distinguished group of shareholders,” he said.
VALR will use the proceeds from the capital raise to build new products and services, expand into new territories, and continue to build its team of professionals, particularly in the technology, regulatory and compliance, and client service domains.
Arthur Hayes, CEO and co-Founder, 100x Group, says, “South Africa has an incredibly exciting and fast-growing cryptocurrency ecosystem, and we believe VALR is well-placed to capitalise on future growth of bitcoin trading. In VALR we’re backing not only a successful early stage business, but a management team with the ability to scale operations significantly.”
VALR has raised R79-million to date, including an equity funding seed round of R20-million in July 2018.
Justin Stanford, Co-Founding General Partner at 4Di Capital comments on the growth of the cryptoasset ecosystem in South Africa.
“At 4Di we have been looking for appropriate investment in the crypto sector for some years, and we are delighted to be backing such a high-quality business and management team. VALR has shown great integrity and leadership coupled with impressive growth, and delivers a mature, institutional-grade offering to the local market. This is becoming a necessary component in all markets the world over, as the crypto-asset ecosystem becomes increasingly more accepted and integrated into the global financial system.”
Read more: Impact of the proposed FICA amendments on crypto asset service providers
Read more: SA Crypto startup partners with one of the world’s largest exchanges
Featured image: Farzam Ehsani, CEO and co-founder, VALR.com (Supplied)
