The VALR Blog
Latest
Join VALR’s Perps Trading Competition and compete for up to 100,000 USDC in rewards! From 21 July to 18 August 2026, fully-verified traders can climb the leaderboard by trading Perps. The more participants, the bigger the rewards pool.
Equity perpetual futures (stock perps) offer leveraged, 24/7 synthetic exposure to stocks & indices like Apple, NVIDIA & S&P 500: no share ownership, dividends or voting rights. Born from crypto, they use funding rates for price alignment, enable easy shorts & high leverage, but carry liquidation, funding & gap risks.
Explore the key differences between USDC and USDT, the top two stablecoins by market capitalization
Wondering how much 1 XAUt will cost you? Our up-to-date exchange rate and guide will show you how to buy XAUt with USDT.
Wondering how much 1 XRP will cost you? Our up-to-date exchange rate and guide will show you how to buy 1 XRP with USDC.
Discover how global equity indices like the S&P 500 form the backbone of market analysis. Explore float-adjusted weighting, VIX as the fear gauge, realised vs implied volatility, and XYZ100 for continuous leveraged exposure. Key tools for smarter investment decisions.
Join VALR’s Perps Trading Competition and compete for up to 100,000 USDC in rewards! From 21 July to 18 August 2026, fully-verified traders can climb the leaderboard by trading Perps. The more participants, the bigger the rewards pool.
News
Africa’s largest crypto exchange by volume, VALR, has integrated Hyperliquid to offer perpetuals on equities (NVIDIA, Tesla, SpaceX), indices, gold, oil, forex, and crypto. This marks the first major regulated exchange to natively integrate an on-chain L1 for deep liquidity and seamless trading.
Africa’s leading digital asset platform VALR has received provisional approval from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) to operate as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP).The license enables fiat-to-crypto trading, custody, and cross-border transfers, strengthening its global expansion alongside South African FSCA licenses.
Johannesburg, 18 May 2026 – VALR, was a Diamond Sponsor of the Kenya Blockchain & Crypto Conference. Country Manager Peter Mwangi highlighted Kenya’s rise as a digital asset hub, linking it to mobile money success.With the new VASP Act and 2026 Regulations in place, VALR is driving partnerships with its stablecoin expertise and institutional solutions.
National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank have published draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, 2026, for public comment. We believe it is important that you understand the proposed Regulations and have the opportunity to contribute constructively.
VALR unveils its AI-powered crypto service, delivering smarter trading tools for users and enabling autonomous AI agents—advancing the future of agentic finance.
VALR has partnered with Onafriq to enable mobile money deposits in local currencies across Africa, expanding access to crypto and digital financial services for millions.
Wyden has integrated VALR—Africa’s largest crypto exchange by volume—into its institutional trading network, giving global clients direct access to deep ZAR-denominated crypto liquidity in South Africa. The partnership expands institutional access to 100+ digital assets while supporting compliant trading under the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
VALR, South Africa’s largest crypto exchange by volume, has launched the Bitcoin and Gold Bundle (BITGOLD)—a simplified investment product combining Bitcoin (BTC) and tokenised gold (XAUT) in a single, automatically rebalanced portfolio for diversified exposure.
Insights
VALR & Hyperliquid are rewriting finance: CeFi meets DeFi. In this VALR Podcast episode, Farzam Ehsani and Jeff Yan reveal how Africa’s largest exchange is integrating Hyperliquid’s on-chain L1 to deliver 200+ perpetuals with deep liquidity. Explore meritocracy, leapfrogging legacy rails, and the hybrid future of global markets.
VALR, Africa's largest crypto exchange by trade volume, is redefining finance as a full digital asset infrastructure provider. With deep compliance, bank partnerships, and Onafriq mobile money integration, it delivers fast, low-cost cross-border payments and global liquidity to African users and businesses.
In an era of growing material wealth, modern economies have increasingly separated financial transactions from moral and social values. This article examines how dominant systems could be reducing humans to consumers and nature to resources, leading to social fragmentation and ecological strain.
AI agents are moving from experimentation to execution in crypto markets. Centralised exchanges remain critical for deep liquidity, security, and scale, but must reconsider identity, compliance, and accountability for non-human actors. Those that implement verifiable agent identities and advanced APIs will lead the agentic finance era, while others risk being bypassed.
Stablecoins are pegged digital assets (mostly to USD) offering blockchain speed without volatility. With ~$300B in circulation and $33T transacted in 2025, they power 24/7 global payments, remittances, trading & treasury.
The global financial system is evolving rapidly. Bitcoin and stablecoins are powering a borderless, digital economy where humans, AI agents, and IoT devices transact seamlessly. VALR, Africa’s leading digital asset platform, makes it simple: trade crypto, stake, lend, borrow, and spend with VALR Pay. Now with AI-powered insights for humans and full API access for autonomous AI agents.
Mobile money unlocked financial access by meeting real-world needs. Now, crypto extends that progress by helping users preserve value and participate globally.
The challenge is no longer technology but design—building financial systems that are inclusive, practical, and enable real economic freedom.
As AI and robotics transform work and society, they raise a profound question about human purpose. Rather than a threat, this shift could enable shared abundance and free people to focus on creativity, community, and meaningful living.
Education
Equity perpetual futures (stock perps) offer leveraged, 24/7 synthetic exposure to stocks & indices like Apple, NVIDIA & S&P 500: no share ownership, dividends or voting rights. Born from crypto, they use funding rates for price alignment, enable easy shorts & high leverage, but carry liquidation, funding & gap risks.
Explore the key differences between USDC and USDT, the top two stablecoins by market capitalization
Wondering how much 1 XAUt will cost you? Our up-to-date exchange rate and guide will show you how to buy XAUt with USDT.
Wondering how much 1 XRP will cost you? Our up-to-date exchange rate and guide will show you how to buy 1 XRP with USDC.
Discover how global equity indices like the S&P 500 form the backbone of market analysis. Explore float-adjusted weighting, VIX as the fear gauge, realised vs implied volatility, and XYZ100 for continuous leveraged exposure. Key tools for smarter investment decisions.
Explore 2026 commodity market outlooks for gold, silver, copper & crude oil. See how supply-demand, geopolitics, rates & dollar moves shape prices via COMEX, LME, ICE/NYMEX futures. Insights from WGC, Silver Institute, ICSG & EIA.
Discover how digital vouchers bridge cash-heavy informal economies and modern digital finance. Serving millions in low-risk settings, they build transaction skills, create records, and open doors to mobile money and formal services—driving inclusion, reducing risks, and supporting steady economic formalisation.
Perpetual futures, or perps, let traders hold leveraged positions on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other assets with no expiry date. Cash-settled and kept aligned via funding rates, they eliminate rollover costs and basis risk. This makes them ideal for speculation, hedging, and 24/7 trading.
The VALR Podcast
In the latest podcast, VALR CEO Farzam Ehsani speaks with Hyperliquid Co-Founder Jeff Yan about their groundbreaking partnership. VALR now offers nearly 200 new perpetual futures markets with deep on-chain liquidity via Hyperliquid’s high-performance L1 exchange. Discover how CeFi and DeFi are uniting to deliver fast, low-cost trading especially across Africa.
In this VALR Podcast episode, Farzam Ehsani interviews Adam Levi of Backed, issuer of xStocks, tokenised equities launched in June 2025. Comparable to stablecoins, xStocks track underlying equities like Tesla, offering fractionalisation, instant settlement, and 24/7 trading. Levi predicts tokenised equities surpassing stablecoins’ value by 2033. Backed leverages The vision? A financial system democratising wealth creation, countering fiat erosion.
Explore Bitcoin security and self-custody with Jameson Lopp on The VALR Podcast. Learn why protecting your crypto matters, from hardware wallets to multi-sig setups and privacy best practices.
Explore the evolution of money with economist Dawie Roodt on the VALR Podcast. From barter to Bitcoin, discover how currencies have shaped economies and why fiat money may soon disappear. Read more on the future of digital finance and decentralised currencies.
Can Bitcoin mining solve South Africa’s energy crisis and boost economic growth? In this episode of The VALR Podcast, Stafford Masie, tech entrepreneur and Chairman of Altvest Capital, explains how Bitcoin mining could stabilise the grid, reduce Eskom’s debt, and reshape the economy. Plus, discusses Altvest’s move as the first publicly traded African company to adopt a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Listen to the first episode of Season 2 of The VALR Podcast as host Farzam Ehsani speaks with Michael Jordaan, CEO of Montegray and former FNB CEO, about Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, the future of finance in South Africa, and whether the country should hold Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
Anthony Scaramucci discusses his journey into crypto, Bitcoin vs. Solana, and the potential of a U.S. Bitcoin reserve in the 11th episode of The VALR Podcast with Farzam Ehsani.
VALR Unfiltered
In this episode of VALR Unfiltered, Ben Caselin talks to Shelley Hoverman, Head of Payments at VALR, and Peter Mongi from VALR Kenya. They discuss how mobile money has transformed African finance and why crypto is the next leap.
In this episode of VALR Unfiltered, Ben Caselin talks to Dr. David Palmer about Bitcoin’s potential to reshape human consciousness and challenge traditional money systems. They explore how Bitcoin could promote peace and connect to broader philosophical ideas about value and global unity.
Discover how Bitcoin fits into Kenya’s evolving financial landscape. VALR Unfiltered explores crypto adoption, mobile money, and wealth preservation with BitcoinKe’s David Gitonga.
In the 6th episode of VALR Unfiltered: Money, Meaning & Society, host Ben Caselin engages Anton Gulin, Co-Founder and Chief Product Owner of Bincentric, in a candid discussion about Russia’s economic landscape and Bitcoin’s role within it.
In the 5th episode of VALR Unfiltered: Money, Meaning & Society, hosted by Ben Caselin, VALR’s CMO, an engaging conversation unfolds with Gianluca Sacco, VALR’s COO. The discussion explores stablecoins, Bitcoin, and the philosophical underpinnings of money and human values, offering insights into the growing crypto landscape.
In Episode 4 of "VALR Unfiltered: Money, Meaning & Society," VALR CMO Ben Caselin and Co-Founder Badi Sudhakaran discuss crypto’s role in tackling poverty, promoting financial inclusion, and building fairer economic systems. Exploring themes of wealth, access, and equity, the episode highlights VALR’s mission as a values-driven exchange bridging traditional and digital finance.
Explore how the UAE is shaping the future of crypto and society in Episode 3 of VALR Unfiltered. Ben Caselin speaks with Bu Salem on blockchain adoption, progressive regulation, digital assets, and the UAE’s vision for inclusive innovation and global leadership.
Explore the unique role of Hong Kong in global finance and crypto innovation in this episode of VALR Unfiltered, as VALR’s CMO Ben Caselin and Gate.io’s CBO Kevin Lee discuss the city’s financial culture, its history with Bitcoin mining, and its potential as a testing ground for decentralized technologies.
Competitions
Join VALR’s Perps Trading Competition and compete for up to 100,000 USDC in rewards! From 21 July to 18 August 2026, fully-verified traders can climb the leaderboard by trading Perps. The more participants, the bigger the rewards pool.
Participate in VALR’s Perps Trading Competition and rank among the top 10 traders by volume to share a $2,000 USDC prize pool. Access 200+ markets with leverage, including global equities, stock indices, commodities, precious metals, forex, and crypto.
Trade via VALR Simple Buy & Sell and you could earn rewards! Reach monthly trading volume tiers to automatically enter exciting prize draws. Every buy and sell transaction counts towards your total volume. The promotion runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Simply log in or register, complete KYC2 verification, and start trading today.
Join VALR’s exciting new Buy & Hold campaign for VALR10 and BITGOLD bundles. Enjoy weekly airdrops and share in tiered prize pools (up to R250 per week) with a massive R10,000 grand prize. Start buying and holding from 13 May 2026 to qualify — all rewards paid in BITGOLD and VALR10. Don’t miss out!
From May 2026 until the end of April 2027, new verified users on VALR, who make at least one trade, may be eligible to receive an iPhone Air or $250 in Bitcoin. Each month, one randomly selected new user will be awarded an iPhone, while two randomly selected new users will each receive $250 in Bitcoin.
Earn crypto rewards on VALR by depositing via Mobile Money. Get 50% of fees back in BTC up to $200 per month and 20% referral rewards in USDT. Limited-time offer, first come, first served.
Shop with VALR Pay and earn crypto rewards. Pay at any VALR Pay–enabled retailer using ZAR, USDT, USDC, or supported cryptocurrencies and get 2.5% back in crypto or xStocks, up to R2,500 per month. Rewards are paid to your VALR wallet within 7 days after each monthly promotion period, from a R50,000 monthly reward pool.
From 20 - 24 February 2026, refer friends to VALR and take part in a community-focused rewards campaign. Verified referrals can earn from a $1,250 reward pool, and one randomly selected new referral stands the chance to earn a $250 crypto reward for trading above the required amount.
Editors’ picks
Compare Bitcoin, the ultimate store of value, with Solana, built for speed and low-cost transactions - both available to explore on VALR.
Factors to consider when choosing a Bitcoin wallet in South Africa, plus what you can do with BTC on VALR.
Wondering how much Bitcoin R500 can get you? Our up-to-date exchange rate and guide will show you how to buy Bitcoin in South Africa.
