VALR introduces xStocks in South Africa, exposes region to U.S.-listed equities

In this post:

• VALR pioneered xStocks in South Africa, exposing the region to – otherwise unreachable – equities listed in U.S. exchanges.
• The crypto exchange offers 1:1-backed tokenized U.S. equities like Tesla, Coinbase, Nvidia, Circle, and Robinhood.
• David Henderson, the Head of Growth at xStock issuer Backed, was happy with his company’s efforts to increase tokenized RWAs’ exposure.

VALR, one of Africa’s established crypto exchanges, now offers xStocks in South Africa. It will offer 1:1-backed tokenized U.S. stocks, exposing the region’s token holders to prices of major U.S. stocks.

VALR said in a statement that its initiative was a significant step in the region towards simplified investment opportunities and financial inclusion across the continent. The offering allowed African customers, who would otherwise not get access to major U.S. stock exchanges, to buy and sell tokenized stocks of U.S.-listed equities like Coinbase, Robinhood, Tesla, Circle, and Nvidia. 

However, xStocks token holders do not receive ownership, voting, or any other rights granted to shareholders. The country and region’s investors will trade these tokens on the VALR Spot market against USDT (TetherUSD), Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital assets. Cash or digital transactions with the South African Rand are also enabled on the terminal.

VALR says Solana works for deposits and withdrawals 

According to VALR, its xStock offering will be available on Solana for deposits and withdrawals. The company said it was joining a growing trend of tokenizing RWAs (Real World Assets). With this move, VALR hopes to bridge the gap between the crypto industry and traditional finance. Extending its xStocks offering to Solana will empower its users to gain exposure in trading stocks of large multinationals. 

VALR recently launched the Garrington Capital USD Private Credit Token (USDPC) as part of its VALR Invest program. Its yield-generating token represents the company’s commitment to delivering financial products that promote portfolio diversification. 

“The launch of xStocks on our platform represents a pivotal moment in advancing access to innovative products that bring choice and inclusion to people in South Africa, with a plan to make the product available to the continent and globally in the near future.”

-Farzam Ehsani, Co-Founder and CEO of VALR

Ehsani emphasized that his company was “forging a financial system” that overcame barriers by merging traditional finance and blockchain technology. He pointed out that the initiative strengthened the company’s global profile. It also reaffirmed VALR’s commitment to providing its community with innovative products.

Henderson claims xStocks have received ‘incredible adoption’ 

David Henderson, the Head of Growth at xStock issuer Backed, was excited about his company’s role in bringing more exposure to tokenized RWAs. He pointed out that the xStocks offering had “seen incredible adoption” and the company hoped its new African customer base could participate en masse in tokenized capital markets. 

VALR disclosed that it currently serves more than 1.4K institutional and corporate clients and over 1.5 million global users. The company revealed that its “comprehensive suite of crypto products” included OTC trading, Spot trading, staking, Spot margin, lending, Subaccount, futures, VALR Pay, API services, and simple buy-and-sell. 

The company also revealed that the FSCA licensed it to offer its services in South Africa and approved its service to parts of the EU. VALR said it had secured $55 million in equity funding from investors, including F-Prime (affiliated with Fidelity), Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, and GSR.