African Crypto Startup Yellow Card Raises $33 Million to Scale Crypto Solutions, Focuses on Stablecoin Utility
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- Yellow Card, Africa’s most-funded crypto platform, has raised $33 million in a Series C round led by Blockchain Capital, bringing its total funding to $88 million.
- The platform has shifted its focus from retail customers to businesses, serving over 30,000 businesses across Africa, helping with treasury management and stablecoin access.
Africa’s blockchain and cryptocurrency sector is witnessing a much-needed boost amid challenging times for startups. While some companies have retreated due to harsh regulatory environments, macroeconomic factors, or mismanagement, Yellow Card, a U.S.-founded crypto platform launched in Nigeria in 2019, has risen to become the continent’s most-funded cryptocurrency exchange.
Recently, the company raised $33 million in a Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital, bringing its total funding to $88 million.
Yellow Card initially catered to retail customers by providing access to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins such as USDT, USDC, and PYUSD across 20 African countries. However, the platform is now shifting its focus toward serving businesses. This change began after the company’s $40 million Series B raise two years ago.
“The big shift for us has been our focus on working predominantly with businesses now,” said Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card. “When we started, we targeted the B2C market to serve retail customers. However, we realized that the real users who benefit the most from this technology are businesses.”
As Yellow Card navigated the retail market, it became clear that handling smaller transactions for individual customers was costly and unsustainable. Although the platform reached one million customers by 2021, the company found that businesses, moving larger transaction volumes and paying higher fees, were a more viable customer base. To accommodate this shift, Yellow Card has raised its minimum transaction limits, reducing its focus on retail customers.
Today, Yellow Card serves around 30,000 businesses, offering solutions like treasury management and stablecoin access. While this may seem like a pivot from the platform’s initial mission of making crypto accessible to the masses, Maurice contends that the company is still on course. He highlights that in Africa, many small businesses and individuals operate in a blended manner, such as individuals running kiosks, which means Yellow Card’s services remain relevant to both groups.
Maurice also argues that by helping businesses manage treasury and payments using stablecoins, the broader population benefits through more affordable goods and services. For instance, companies that import essential items like food and pharmaceuticals can use Yellow Card’s platform to stabilize costs, passing on savings to consumers.
Africa’s crypto adoption continues to grow, with countries like Nigeria ranking second globally in crypto adoption. Stablecoins, pegged to the U.S. dollar, have become central to this growth, helping businesses and individuals hedge against currency devaluation and inflation.
Yellow Card’s transaction volumes have surged from $1.7 billion in early 2023 to over $3 billion today, driven by the practical utility of stablecoins. “What’s majorly driving adoption for us is utility,” Maurice noted. “Stablecoins are useful. People need them.”
With this latest funding, Yellow Card plans to enhance its products, expand its team, and continue engaging with regulators across Africa. While global crypto regulation remains complex and restrictive in some regions, Maurice believes African regulators have been more innovative and open to the technology, setting a favorable environment for platforms like Yellow Card to thrive.
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