STABLECOINS | Africa’s Largest Crypto Exchange Processed Over $20 Billion in Stablecoins in the Last 12 Months

South African cryptocurrency exchange, VALR, processed more than $20 billion in trading volume over the last 12 months, underscoring the rapid growth of digital asset markets across Africa as stablecoins become an increasingly important part of cross-border payments and trading.

The milestone, disclosed by VALR Co-Founder and CEO, Farzam Ehsani, marks a sharp increase from the exchange’s earlier growth trajectory and highlights how institutional and retail demand for crypto assets continues to expand despite volatile market cycles.

“In the last 12 months, VALR processed more than $20 billion of stablecoins for our customers through our wallet infrastructure,” said Farzam.

The company, founded in 2018, has grown into Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and has been expanding internationally through regulatory approvals in multiple jurisdictions.

Ehsani said one of the strongest drivers of activity has been the growing adoption of stablecoins which have become an increasingly important bridge between traditional finance and on-chain markets.

He argued that stablecoins are serving a practical role today by enabling faster and cheaper value transfers even as they remain tied to government-issued currencies that may themselves lose purchasing power over time.

The comments come as stablecoins have emerged as one of crypto’s fastest-growing sectors. Dollar-backed stablecoins are increasingly being used for international settlements, remittances, and treasury management, particularly in emerging markets where access to U.S. dollars can be limited or expensive.

For Africa, where businesses and individuals frequently face high cross-border payment costs and currency volatility, the rise of stablecoins has created a growing use case beyond speculative trading.

VALR’s $20 billion annual processing volume reflects that broader shift. While crypto exchanges were once driven largely by retail speculation, an increasing share of activity now comes from payments, institutional trading, and businesses using on-chain dollar assets for settlements.

The company has steadily expanded its product offering beyond spot trading to include margin trading, perpetual futures, staking, lending and institutional APIs, while pursuing partnerships and licenses in markets including Europe, Dubai and Mauritius as it seeks to grow beyond Africa.

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