Inside VALR's Growth Strategy: VALR's CMO Shares Insights on Connecting Emerging Crypto Markets

This post is an adaptation of an interview originally published on Hackernoon.

Recently, VALR has been highly active in Asia. Who is driving this initiative, and what are his values and development strategies?

Ben Caselin, VALR’s Chief Marketing Officer, shared his story and VALR’s future direction with Ishan Pandey. Ben has many years of experience in the digital asset space, primarily in Hong Kong and the UAE, with a strong focus on driving Bitcoin adoption in emerging markets. His comments are often quoted and published by top media outlets. Additionally, he is an avid speaker at global conferences.

1. Ishan Pandey: You’ve had a diverse career in the crypto industry across Asia and the Middle East. Could you share some key moments from your journey that have shaped your current role at VALR?

Ben Caselin: As with most people in crypto, my journey has been interesting to say the least. In Hong Kong, I’ve had both the privilege and misfortune of going through an entire crypto business life-cycle, from launching an exchange, building a global brand and capturing multiple markets globally, to facing the sudden and complete collapse of the company with all the turmoil that comes with it.

In Hong Kong, my experience started somewhat underground, writing niche articles and attending obscure meetups. But over the years, I’ve also seen the space grow up, following the ICO boom, the rise of DeFI, seeing the institutions come into the space, and the birth of Web3.

In Dubai, the UAE, my work was much more focused on engaging banks, the regulator, officials and even royalty, which gave me a lot of insight into the tremendous opportunities that crypto can unlock around the world.

It was also in Dubai, at the Burj Khalifa, that I met Badi Sudhakaran who is one of the co-founders of VALR. That meeting was certainly a key moment.

2. Ishan Pandey: What were some unique insights or experiences you gained while working in Hong Kong and Dubai that you’re now bringing to VALR?

Ben Caselin: In terms of my profession, I have always been values-driven. No one can question that. But the big lesson that I had to learn is that it is very important to make sure that the people you partner with and the companies you work for, share your values. Once that alignment is there, amazing results can be achieved.

Look, VALR was there before me. It was founded in 2018 and has mostly grown organically, becoming the largest exchange by trade volume on the African continent and serving more than 1000 institutional clients. VALR was great before me and is great without me, but I’m happy to be a part of it. Just as I was keen to connect Hong Kong with Dubai, I am excited about connecting Asia to Africa, because it is from these connections that we can supercharge growth.

3. Ishan Pandey: What motivated you to join VALR, and how has your role as CMO evolved since you came on board in November 2023?

Ben Caselin: Over the course of 2023, I was seriously considering stepping away from the exchange industry and focusing on simple grass-roots bitcoin education on some remote island somewhere. During this time of reflection, I wrote a book called “Landscapes of Value: Navigating Society Through The Prism of Worth”, where I explored the concept of “value” across different dimensions of human life, including money, religion, art, nature, technology, community and death.

On page 19, reflecting on society, I wrote that “...the process we’re engaged in —in just these past hundred years alone, with the invention of the car, the airplane, spacecraft, telecommunications, the Internet, or Bitcoin, helps us see and realize the oneness of humankind and that the world is, indeed, but one country.”

Now, why am I sharing this? Well, if you visit the “About Us” section on valr.com, you can find a quotation from VALR’s Co-Founder and CEO, Farzam Ehsani, where he says “We need a financial system that recognises the oneness of humanity.”

Based on this, I think it’s clear why I joined VALR. Everything clicked.

As for my role, the first few months have been focused on building up a solid communications and marketing department, recruiting talent and really working with the team to prepare the platform for global expansion and viral growth. Now, we’re in the fun phase where we’re seeing a lot of new users join VALR and go through the onboarding – I believe it to be the beginning of a great love affair between VALR and Asia, and ultimately the world.

4. Ishan Pandey: VALR is known for its strong values and community focus. How has your vision aligned with the company’s ethos, and what new directions are you bringing to the table?

Ben Caselin: At the core level, the co-founders at VALR and I share the vision that material advancement (i.e. technology) is not enough to change the world. Material progress has to go hand in hand with ethical progress.

At VALR, this is not just about how we view our user base and the partners we work with. The concept of ethics, unity and a commitment to truthfulness is also part of the internal company culture. This is very refreshing.

I’m not sure exactly what I bring to the table, but I think my colleagues might say, I’ve heightened the levels of intensity and, with it, stress-levels. Ultimately, I think we’re all excited about what’s ahead of us if we persevere. What can I say, except “add oil!”

5. Ishan Pandey: VALR has ambitious plans for Asia. Could you tell us more about the strategy for entering this market and the key challenges you expect to face?

Ben Caselin: While VALR is mostly famous in South Africa as the dominant player, our biggest customers are actually already in Asia. Over the coming months, we will continue to host meetups, attend conferences, build partnerships and very soon we will be launching our app in Chinese as well.

At the same time, while we’re meeting more people and growing the community, we’ve put some very strong incentive programs in place to really drive growth and volume.

Every month, we reward the Top Futures Traders by volume with a prize pool that can run as high as 5 million USDT per month, depending on trading volume. We’re also in the final weeks of Solana Summer, where we’re distributing over 300 SOL in rewards to traders of all levels.

For both existing customers and new joiners, we’re running a Global Treasure Hunt where users get rewarded with USDT and USDC for completing simple tasks such as completing KYC, making a trade, referring a friend or staking. In October, we will also be launching trading competitions based on PnL and ROI performance, which helps to level the playing field.

6. Ishan Pandey: Asia is home to some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. What makes VALR’s offering unique in this highly competitive market?

Ben Caselin: There are many exchanges in this region that come with a background in forex, e-commerce or online gambling. The philosophy of growth that underlies these types of exchanges is very effective.

VALR is quite different from this. It was founded to solve a problem in society, and while revenue is important - and we are profitable - VALR prioritizes people over profit. VALR is a customer-first organization and anyone who trades with us will attest to this.

Asia is of course of great interest to us, but this market is also very saturated and people are hungry for new opportunities. VALR is pioneering such opportunities by building bridges between different crypto hubs, effectively opening Africa up to our partners in Asia, Europe and the US, while we expand our user base globally.

As many will know, the African market is increasingly seen as a fertile ground for crypto adoption due to high inflation, banking inefficiencies, and the need for financial inclusion. By connecting these two regions—Asia’s established crypto markets and Africa’s emerging ones—VALR is leveraging a unique growth strategy that few other exchanges are in a position to pursue. Our backing by Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures and GSR, and our recent licensing in South Africa, under the FSCA, also play into VALR’s unique position.

7. Ishan Pandey: As VALR continues its global expansion, what kind of partnerships are you looking to establish in Asia?

Ben Caselin: VALR thrives on partnerships and we are generally open to partnering with anyone who wants to progress humanity. On the OTC side, we’ve partnered with Circle as well as Tether, offering deep liquidity across different blockchain protocols. We’re also partnering with some of the largest fintechs in Africa who serve millions of customers, by enabling them to build on VALR and use our infrastructure. But aside from crypto native and fintech companies, we’re also in advanced talks with some of the largest banks in Africa - but we’re not at liberty yet to share more about this.

In Asia, it’s no different. We’re open to partner with new Web3 projects, stablecoin issuers, fintechs, liquidity providers, but also KOLs, trading groups, aggregators, you name it. Growth is all about forging connections and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

8. Ishan Pandey: For professionals in Asia who are interested in joining VALR, are there any specific skills or expertise you’re currently seeking?

Ben Caselin: VALR is a fully remote company with staff all around the world, including Asia. We’re continuously expanding our workforce and especially as we grow in Asia as well as Europe, we’re looking for more dedicated and talented people to join our team - not just for marketing, but also on the business development front, for customer service, and other key operational arms of the exchange.

9. Ishan Pandey: With crypto regulations evolving rapidly, what makes 2024-2025 a pivotal time for the industry, and how is VALR positioning itself for long-term success?

Ben Caselin: It’s not an understatement to say that the world is in great turmoil. On the macro front, we can see the global financial system is under tremendous strain with unprecedented volatility across financial markets, and geo-politically the world isn’t getting any safer either.

We believe the adoption of bitcoin and crypto are an important part of solving some of the world’s biggest problems, which for us means that we must simply stay the course. Integrity always wins and by staying true to our values – values like unity, truthfulness, transparency and justice - we believe we have a very good chance at being successful for the long-term.

10. Ishan Pandey: What are some of the broader goals you hope to achieve at VALR in the next few years, particularly in terms of global growth and industry influence?

Ben Caselin: We are living in a world, where trust in institutions is dwindling every day. But trustworthy institutions are necessary in society to facilitate peace and prosperity. I believe VALR will be such an institution and we’re taking all the right steps to get there.

Next year, we will be organizing a very special event in Cape Town, South Africa – it will be unique and impactful. I hope to see many of our Asian partners and community there, so together we can connect the different continents, open up new markets and build a better world.