Polychain leads $40M raise for African crypto exchange Yellow Card

African crypto exchange Yellow Card raised $40 million in its Series B round led by Polychain Capital.

Yellow Card Financial, a Nigeria-based cryptocurrency exchange seeking to drive the next wave of crypto adoption across Africa, has successfully closed its $40 million Series B funding round, according to news the platform shared on Monday.

US-based investment firm Polychain Capital led the funding round, Yellow Card announced, with the capital injection adding to the Pan-African crypto startup’s Series A funding round completed in August 2021. At the time, the platform secured $15 million from investors and has now raised over $57 million to top the fundraising board for crypto companies across the continent.

For its latest financing round, Yellow Card attracted participation from Castle Island Ventures, Valar Ventures, Third Prime Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, Sozo Ventures, Fabric Ventures, The Raba Partnership, and Jon Weiner among others.

Driving crypto adoption in Africa

The funding will enable the company to drive exponential business growth, continue its successful expansion across the continent, develop new product innovations, and advance strategic partnerships across Africa.

According to Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card, the funding is a vote of confidence in the team and the product. It also highlights the massive appetite for crypto across the continent. 

The fundraising succeeded despite a crypto winter that has seen many crypto companies struggle, with many resorting to downsizing their headcount to keep financial books balanced.

“This fundraise in this market not only showcases the resilience of our team but also reiterates the appetite and necessity for cryptocurrency in Africa,” Maurice noted in a statement.

Polychain Capital partner Will Wolf sees Yellow Card as “the best executing team on the continent,” and believes what they have done is just the beginning of what’s possible towards greater crypto adoption in Africa.

“We are impressed by the way they seamlessly adjust and adapt to the unique opportunities and demands of the various African markets. We’ve barely touched the surface of what is possible when it comes to crypto in Africa, and we’re excited for what’s to come,” Wolf added.

Yellow Card launched in 2019 in Nigeria and is currently available across 21 countries,including Senegal, Gabon, Zambia, Kenya and Rwanda. The platform’s growth has seen it surpass 1 million customers in just three years as more people tap into its technology to invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.

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