A South African cryptocurrency exchange company is looking to expand its operation within Africa, and beyond following the massive funding, it raised from venture capitals.

The crypto exchange, VALR, is Africa’s leading digital currency player. It has increased its valuation to $240 million following its success in raising $3.4 million in a Series A funding project in July 2020. The funding round was led by other big guns like Coinbase, Alameda Research, VC Pantera Capital, and others.

VALR has processed more than $7.5 billion in trade volume as far back as 2019, serving more than 250,000 retail clients and about 500 global organizational users. CoinMarketCap reported that the exchange has about 420 BTC worth $18 million in trade volume covering 69 transaction pairs.

Funding Purpose

According to VALR CEO Farzam Ehsani, the current funds are for expanding the operations of the exchange into new and emerging markets in Africa and beyond, especially India – and developing more useful products for its users and bringing more talents onboard. Digital currency is increasingly becoming the transaction medium of choice for the vast majority of the world’s population.

The CEO also remarked that the vision of VALR is to build a robust financial system that understands how the world is and to serve humanity without exception. The firm believes that there are no uncertainties regarding the role of cryptocurrency in the global financial markets.

VALR, as a leading crypto player in Africa, is poised to bring exceptional crypto-related services to the doorsteps of people who have not benefited from digital financial services before.

Ehsani expects VALR to co-opts and increase the number of customers like banks and other financial institutions into its platform, to know their peculiar needs and provides them with the type of crypto-related services they might require in the future.

As crypto is beginning to become a critical part of people’s lives, the company is looking to bridge the gaps for customers who are more attune to the conventional financial system to crossover to the new digital financial services with ease.

The Rising Crypto Investment

The early days of the year have not been rosy to the cryptocurrency industry as its market has witnessed turbulence after turbulence. Still, all these challenges did nothing to stop the growing investment in crypto projects since the start of the year.

The South Korean government has, on February 27, pledged to establish a $187 million national metaverse project to signal the country’s readiness to venture into the new digital ecosystem and attract investments to it.

Another renowned company, The Graph, also launched a $205 million funding on February 17 to attract developers and willing investors to its platform to boost its journey to the metaverse.

Other popular brands like Adidas, Dolce & Gabbana, Nike, and even top car makers have all made provisions for their products in the metaverse, with customers increasingly favouring the ecosystem as it continues to grow and evolve.