In the world of financial technology, VALR stands out as a platform for digital assets. Users can trade, store, send, and receive cryptocurrency using it.
If you want to buy, sell, store, or send cryptocurrency safely and reliably, VALR.com is the place to go.
They focus on making it easy to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum, but you can also buy a wide range of other cryptocurrencies with South African rands.
If you live in South Africa, you can use EFT to add rand to your account from any bank, which you can then use to buy bitcoin or ether.
In less than 5 minutes, your account could be set up and verified. If you click here, you can join Valr for free.
South Africa has many virtual currency markets that are doing well, but VALR stands out.
Customers from South Africa can set up an account and start using the service in a matter of minutes.
They also accept South African Rands and EFTs from bank accounts in South Africa.
How it Works
Account Security
Thanks to Valr, you can be sure that your private information is always encrypted.
All attempts to log in from a new device or location will need your approval, and security measures like Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) will be turned on automatically for any mission-critical transactions.
Financial Security
If you trade cryptocurrencies with Valr, you can be sure that your money is safe.
For trading, customers need accounts that have been paid for. Customers’ ZAR payments to Valr are always kept separate from the company’s operating funds.
Internal Controls
With their security protocols in place, not even their CEO can change crypto assets on his or her own.
Instead, it takes a team effort to move your money since they do not have any cryptocurrency in their facilities.
Coin Storage
To keep your cryptocurrencies safe, Valr uses both “cold storage” and “hot wallets.”
The “Cold storage” will mean institutional vaults that are not online, are spread out geographically, have limited access, and are watched by video.
Running a business requires a “hot wallet,” which is an online wallet with more than one signature.
Wide Variety
Even though Bitcoin and Ethereum are Valr’s main focus, they also let you buy and sell a large number of other popular cryptocurrencies.
Market Size
With more than 280,000 users, VALR is the most used cryptocurrency platform in South Africa.
They offer a variety of services that help spread the use of cryptocurrencies and give people more economic power.
The goal of Valr is to make a money system that recognizes that people are all the same.
To get there, they’re making a set of products that are first meant for South Africans but could be sold to people all over the world.
Using Market Makers
A market maker is a person who makes a market by putting a buy or sell order on an exchange that isn’t immediately matched with another transaction.
Before they can buy or sell something, they have to find a buyer or seller who is willing to pay the price they want.
So, market makers contribute to a lively market by making the platform more liquid, which makes it easier for market takers to make trades quickly.
Additionally, Valr is the first company to give market makers a cut of the money made from trades that go through in South Africa, Africa, and the rest of the world.
This is one of the ways that Valr gives back to the people who use it to increase its market size across the globe.
Founders
Farzam Ehsani
Farzam Ehsani is the Co-Founder & CEO at Valr
Several years ago, when the Greek debt crisis, rising gold prices, and a credit rating of the US federal government all happened at the same time, Farzam set out to learn as much as possible about our unstable global financial system.
Farzam has spent the last few years moving through RMB’s Class Of program, which has taken him through Global Markets, Group Treasury, Investment Banking, and Private Equity.
He recently helped set up RMB’s FinTech branch, the Foundery, and he is now in charge of RMB’s Blockchain Initiative.
Farzam also believes that blockchain technology will change our banking system in the same way that the internet changed other parts of society.
Farzam used to work for the United Nations in Nairobi, the Baha’i World Center in Haifa, and McKinsey & Company in Johannesburg.
He also went to Berkeley to study economics in school.
Badi Sudhakaran
Badi Sudhakaran is a co-founder and the chief product officer at Valr.
He is in charge of the company’s growth as a whole, as well as the future development of the product and how the customer feels about it.
Badi started his career at Yahoo! and has worked in four different countries since then, always leading software teams to make products that look good.
Badi has spoken at many conferences, including redev, DevConf (South Africa), DevTalks (Romania), and CodeGarden (Denmark) (Sweden).
Theo Bohnen
Theo Bohmen is the co-founder at Valr and The Coding Ground.
He is a software engineer at work and in his personal life.
He has spoken at South Africa’s JSInSA, DevConf, Agile Africa, Scrum Gathering, and several user groups.
He works at The Coding Ground, where he teaches kids about software craftsmanship. By doing this, he helps make education fair for everyone.
As a part of the blockchain revolution, he also helps spread financial services that are easy to use.
Investors & Funding Rounds
Bittrex
Bittrex is an American cryptocurrency exchange and one of the most advanced, safest, and legal platforms in the world.
Bittrex led a fundraising round that brought in $1.5 million. This made it possible for Valr to start its trading platform for digital assets.
Main Competitors
BitMart: This is a place to buy and sell digital assets like cryptocurrencies.
AlgoTrader: This is the best when it comes to institutional trading technology for digital assets.
CoinMetro: Money is the future of blockchain technology, and CoinMetro is the financial platform that will power that future.
Related:
PEG Africa: Story, Founders, Investors & Funding Rounds