Skip to main content

Nigerian Crypto Startup Yellow Card Raises $1.5 Million For Expansion in Africa

Nigerian Crypto Startup Yellow Card Raises $1.5 Million For Expansion in Africa

Yellow Card has raised $1.5 million in a seed round. The Nigerian crypto startup said it will use the money to expand its operations in Africa while making it easier for people on the continent to buy and sell digital assets.

Investors in the new round include Polychain, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and Celo, through the Celo Ecosystem Fund.

In a statement, Yellow Card said it intends to “become the dominant exchange across the continent.” The company recently expanded into South Africa and Botswana and added 30,000 new vendors.

“Along with the fundraise, Yellow Card is announcing that it will be launching its services in Kenya and Cameroon starting September 1,” said the firm.

Kenya is already big on crypto traffic, ranking third, behind South Africa, in peer-to-peer bitcoin (BTC) transactions. Nigeria’s trade volume of $34.4 million in the second quarter of 2020 makes it Africa’s most active country in the digital asset space.

Founded in 2016 by Chris Maurice and Justin Poiroux on a financial inclusion pitch, Yellow Card boasts over 35 thousand merchants in Nigeria. The company says it has handled more than $35 million in transactions in the country. It offers users multiple payment options including cash, credit card, and bank transfer to via cryptocurrency.

In its statement, the firm also announced that Jason Marshall, former senior director of payment services at Walmart, has joined the team as its chief operating officer.

Yellow Card was initially pitched around developing a Bitcoin gift card but adopted the objective of “basic financial services for all” in 2018 after witnessing the high costs of sending money to Nigeria through the banking system.

What do you think about Yellow Card’s expansion plans? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Nigerian Crypto Startup Yellow Card Raises $1.5 Million For Expansion in Africa appeared first on Bitcoin News.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/31FrfH6

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Deep Web Roundup: Dream Adds Monero and Bitcoin Tumbler “Chip Mixer” Launches

The darknet has been quiet of late, which is the way it’s meant to be. No news means no mega busts, honeypots, or mass market shutdowns. Even when it’s out of the spotlight though, the deep web is quietly making news, whether trialling the latest privacy coins or the newest coin mixers that promise to restore a little of the privacy that’s being stripped away from bitcoin users on a daily basis. Also read: U.S. Agency ICE Conducts Investigations That Exploit Blockchain Activity The Battle for Privacy Heats Up Privacy is all relative, but of late there’s been relatively little privacy to be enjoyed by bitcoin users. Blockchain monitoring software is becoming more sophisticated and more common, with U.S. law enforcement agencies using it to profile and hunt down deep web users. Chip Mixer is a relatively new bitcoin tumbler that’s designed to restore some of that privacy. Available on both the clearnet and darknet, the service uses a variety of techniques to obfuscate blockchain m...

International Crypto Exchange Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading

Luno exchange has added bitcoin cash trading to the platform following feedback from its client base. BCH is now only the third cryptocurrency available for trading on the exchange, in addition to BTC and ETH , but more options could be on the way once Luno determines that they are credible enough. Also Read: Bitflyer Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Across Europe and the US Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Luno, the London-headquartered company formerly known as Bitx, recently announced that bitcoin cash was made available on its cryptocurrency exchange. Starting from Monday, September 23, customers at Luno are now able to store, buy and sell BCH on the platform. The reason given for adding BCH to the exchange is feedback from users in developing markets that convinced Luno to expand their offering from previously just BTC and ETH . Marcus Swanepoel, CEO of Luno, said , “We are in a new and exciting financial era. Developing economies are leading the large-scale adoption and appli...

Ombudsman Receives Complaints About Crypto Investments in Spain

The Spanish ombudsman has been receiving complaints about cryptocurrency and how some Spanish citizens investing in these vehicles have lost everything. In his annual report, Angel Gabilondo recognized the rise of cryptocurrencies as a new problem due to the little or no regulation crypto sees in the country. In the same way, the EU has also warned about these assets recently. Spanish Ombudsman Gives His Take on Crypto Angel Gabilondo, the Spanish ombudsman, has given his take regarding cryptocurrencies and the effects they have on citizens investing in some of these projects. Gabilondo said in his yearly report that cryptocurrencies have become “a new problem” during the year examined, with many people having lost all of their funds invested. The report states : Cryptocurrency exchange companies or platforms are not regulated in the legal system, are not subject to any public supervision system, nor do they benefit from deposit guarantee systems. The affected users that sought...