South African Crypto Exchange Valr Raises $50 Million in Series B Funding Round

South African cryptocurrency exchange Valr announced recently that it has raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Pantera Capital. The capital raise means Valr is now valued at a reported $240 million.

Funds Raised to Finance Valr’s Expansion Into Other Markets

The South African cryptocurrency exchange, Valr, recently announced that it raised $50 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Pantera Capital, while Alameda Research, Cadenza, CMT Digital, Coinbase Ventures, Distributed Global, GSR and Third Prime also took part.

According to a report by Globalcryptotv, the cryptocurrency exchange’s latest capital raise dwarfs the $3.4 million that it raised in July 2020 and places Valr’s value at $240 million. The report added that Valr, which entered the South African crypto market more than three years ago, will use the capital raised to fund the platform’s expansion into other markets across Africa and into emerging markets such as India.

Remarking on the exchange’s latest capital raise, CEO Farzam Ehsani is quoted in the report explaining how the funds enable his company to serve more clients. He said:

We already help Valr’s customers enter this new world of crypto from the traditional financial system using their USD or ZAR and I’m very excited that this round of funding will allow us to serve so many more across Africa and the world.

Africa’s Bright Future

Meanwhile, Paul Veradittakit, a partner at Pantera Capital, said his organization believed that “Africa’s future is bright for the adoption of cryptocurrencies for both asset diversification and payments.”

Besides using the raised capital to fund its entry into other markets, Valr, according to the report, is also planning to bring more products and services to its growing base of global customers. It is also recruiting across all areas of its team, the report added.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwe award-winning journalist, author and writer. He has written extensively about the economic troubles of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.