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South Africa’s VALR, the largest crypto trading platform in Africa by trade volume, doubled its user base in 2024, surpassing the one million mark.
Established in 2018, VALR is a digital asset platform that allows customers to buy, sell, store and transfer Bitcoin and 60 other cryptocurrencies – the widest selection of any platform in Africa – seamlessly and securely. It serves over 1,000 corporate and institutional clients and more than half a million traders worldwide.
The company, which raised a US$50 million Series B funding round in March 2022, recently obtained approval to offer crypto services in Europe and Dubai, while it was also granted licenses by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa as a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP).
In October, VALR launched a Chinese version of its app, featuring a localised brand and logo, and this global expansion has resulted in the doubling of its user base in 2024, with 500,000 new users added to take it past the one million mark. More than a quarter of VALR customers now hail from outside South Africa’s borders.
“It’s inspiring to see how far we’ve come since 2018. Surpassing one million users, with half a million joining us this year, is a testament to our team’s dedication, the trust our customers place in us, and VALR’s momentum. As we continue our growth, we remain committed to providing innovative, high-quality services that serve not just individual traders, but also larger institutions and fintechs looking to build the future of finance,” Farzam Ehsani, co-founder and CEO of VALR, said.
As part of its growth strategy in 2024, VALR introduced several initiatives to attract new users, including VALR’s Grand Slam – a year-long futures trading competition with monthly reward pools of up to US$5 million – and VALR’s Futures Trade Arena, where traders compete on return-on-investment (ROI) and profit and loss (PnL) performance with weekly and monthly prizes.