Yellow Card, an Africa-focused cryptocurrency exchange, recently announced a $15 million capital increase from its Series A funding round. The capital increase, the largest in Yellow Card, was led by Valar Ventures, Third Prime and Castle Island Ventures. Also participating in the round were Square, Coinbase Ventures, and Blockchain.com Ventures.
Making Cryptocurrencies Available
According to the exchange platform’s blog, a portion of the funds raised will be used to “intensify recruitment and continue its expansion across the continent.” On the other hand, Chris Morris, founder and CEO of Yellow Card, said he expects the recent capital increase to help fintech achieve its goal of making cryptocurrency more accessible to everyone. Morris said:
Our mission has always been to provide access to cryptocurrencies anywhere and everywhere across the African continent. Now, we have the support to make that a reality, along with an amazing team of investors who share our vision.
Before the $15 million was raised, the yellow card had a ‘presence in 12 countries [and] 110 employees in 16 countries.” This footprint is likely one of the reasons why the exchange was able to record “a nearly 30-fold increase in users across Africa since the start of the pandemic.”
Capital increase highlights positive investor perception of Africa
The same blog post also quotes James Fitzgerald of Valar Ventures explaining why his organization is betting on Yellow Card. Fitzgerald said:
“Africa is poised to massively benefit from the power of cryptocurrency to transform financial services. We believe in the yellow card vision of a pan-African cryptocurrency platform. What underpinned this deal was their multinational team, who we believe have local knowledge, technical expertise and a demonstrated passion for addressing core financial services needs. on the continent.”
Although Africa is widely seen as the ideal market for cryptocurrencies, regulatory uncertainty and persistent reports of regulatory opposition make the continent a risky investment destination. However, this lack of clarity has not stopped fintech startups like Yellow Card from expanding their operations.
Indeed, as Monachi Ojiki, Yellow Card’s chief Bitcoin officer, concluded, the startup’s $15 million capital increase is “a confirmation that Africa has a key place in the cryptocurrency industry.” The statement indicates that the fintech startup is not currently concerned with this lack of clarity or certainty. Instead, the yellow card focuses more on its goal of becoming a “trusted enabler of people across the continent.”
What are your views on the $15 million yellow card capital increase? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
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