Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card Financial on Monday (Sept.19) announced the close of a $40 million Series B funding round led by Polychain Capital.
Other participants in the round included Valar Ventures, Third Prime Ventures, Sozo Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Fabric Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, The Raba Partnership, Jon Weiner, Alex Wilson and Pat Duffy.
In a press release announcing the news, the company stated that the new capital will be used to fuel growth, develop new products and advance its strategic partnerships across Africa.
“For the past three years our team has worked tirelessly to make this technology accessible to anyone and create a world-class product,” Yellow Card CEO and Co-founder Chris Maurice said in the press release. “This fundraise in this market not only showcases the resilience of our team but also reiterates the appetite and necessity for cryptocurrency in Africa.”
Since launching in Nigeria in 2019, Yellow Card has sought to make bitcoin, ethereum, stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies accessible to anyone in Africa, per the release.
Currently, the Yellow Card platform is available in 16 countries and has been used by over 1 million people, the company said.
“Yellow Card is the best executing team on the continent. We are impressed by the way they seamlessly adjust and adapt to the unique opportunities and demands of the various African markets. We’ve barely touched the surface of what is possible when it comes to crypto in Africa, and we’re excited for what’s to come,” Polychain Capital Partner Will Wolf said in the announcement.
As Owen Odia, the Nigeria country manager at global cryptocurrency business Luno, told PYMNTS, demand for cryptocurrency remains strong in many African countries even as central banks in the region roll out their own digital currencies.
Read more: Emerging Market Consumers Lukewarm on Value of CBDCs
Like Yellow Card, Luno is looking to democratize crypto access. The firm hopes to empower at least a billion people by 2030 to make cryptocurrency transactions, Odia said.
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