South African Crypto Exchange Raises $50M in Series B
- VALR has claimed that its $50 million Series B is the largest equity funding round for an African crypto-related company.
- Founded in 2019, the exchange has more than 250,000 retail customers and around 500 institutional investors, and has processed around $7.5 billion in trading volume since its launch.
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South African-based cryptocurrency exchange VALR has closed a $50 million Series B equity funding round, and reached a valuation of $240 million, the company said in a press release on 1 March.
According to the announcement, VALR’s Series B — the largest equity funding round for an African crypto-related firm — has raised the valuation of the exchange by more than 10 times what it was in July 2020, when the company held its Series A. The funding round was led by Pantera Capital, and also saw participation from Alameda Research, Coinbase Ventures, Cadenza, CMT Digital, Distributed Global, GSR, Third Prime, and Avon Ventures. Paul Veradittakit, Partner at Panera Capital, said in a statement:
“Pantera is extremely excited to be leading the Series B round for VALR, as we believe that Africa’s future is bright for the adoption of cryptocurrencies for both asset diversification and payments. VALR brings an amazing product and service to onboard both retail customers and institutions.”
The newly acquired funds will help VALR expand its operations to more countries in Africa and other emerging markets, such as India. The company will also use this capital to introduce more products and services to its customers, hire more talent for its expansion, and attract more institutions from the traditional financial system.
Founded in 2019, VALR has grown its user base to more than 250,000 retail customers — most located in South Africa — and 500 institutional investors. The exchange has claimed to have processed over $7.5 billion in trading volume since its launch, and currently has around $20 million in trading volume from 69 crypto pairs, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
- The bankrupt crypto lender has agreed on a settlement with its Series B holders on how to distribute the $25 million from the sale of self-custody platform GK8.
- The majority of funds, $24 million, will be allocated for legal expenses, while the remaining $1 million will be distributed between the Series B holders.
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- Unnamed sources have said that the company is currently in talks with interested parties to raise at least $100 million in a new funding round.
- The same people noted that Ledger had experienced growth in its business over the past months, as investors turn to cold storage.
- The Series F round has more than doubled Chainalysis’ valuation since last year, which is not surprising considering it has increased its customer base by 75%.
- The company has claimed that its various tools are now responsible for monitoring around $1 trillion worth of transactions each month.