VALR, South Africa’s biggest Bitcoin exchange by trading volume, raised 57 million rand ($3.4 million) to help fund further expansion.
Proceeds from the capital raise will be used to explore new products for the South African market, including collateralized lending and derivative trading, and to broaden the company’s presence on the continent, Farzam Ehsani, VALR’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.
The exchange was founded in 2018 and facilitates trading in more than 50 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and ether. It has raised 79 million rand to date.
VALR’s investors include Michael Jordaan, the former CEO of FirstRand Ltd.’s First National Bank, and Bittrex Inc., the Seattle-based cryptocurrency exchange founded by a trio of Amazon.com Inc. alumni.
