On Thursday, VALR, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Africa by trading volume, made history by launching tokenised U.S. stock trading on its platform through a new product called xStocks.
This innovative feature will enable South African users to gain price exposure to leading American companies such as Tesla, NVIDIA, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Circle without needing a U.S. brokerage account.
The development positions the exchange as the first crypto platform in Africa to offer access to tokenised equities, and as a step toward financial inclusion and market accessibility for investors.
What you can do with xStocks on VALR
xStocks, issued by Swiss-based Backed Finance and launched in May 2025, are fully collateralised tokens that represent U.S.-listed equities and ETFs on a 1:1 basis.
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These tokens use the price of real-world stocks but do not grant shareholders any legal ownership, voting rights, or dividends.
Users can trade xStocks on VALR’s Spot market using Tether (USDT), Bitcoin, Ethereum, or the South African rand via the Simple Buy/Sell interface.
The product integrates with the Solana blockchain to enable low-cost and high-speed transactions for deposits and withdrawals.
This strategic approach aligns VALR with the rising global trend of real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation—an innovation that major platforms like Robinhood and Jupiter have recently adopted.
VALR CEO and Co-Founder Farzam Ehsani emphasised the broader vision behind this rollout:
“The launch of xStocks on our platform represents a pivotal moment in advancing access to innovative products that brings choice and inclusion to people in South Africa, with a plan to make the product available to the continent and globally in the near future.”
He added, “By blending crypto and traditional finance, we are forging a financial system that brings down barriers and serves many more with unprecedented ease.”
However, this launch follows closely after VALR’s July debut of the USD Private Credit Token (USDPC), a yield-bearing digital asset backed by private credit from Garrington Capital.
The two launches signal the company’s broader strategy to diversify its offerings beyond standard crypto trading into more advanced financial instruments, helping users build diverse portfolios with growth and income potential.
About VALR
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Johannesburg, VALR has grown into Africa’s leading digital asset exchange by trade volume.
The platform serves over 1.5 million users and over 1,400 institutional clients across various regions, including parts of the European Union.
The platform offers a full suite of crypto-financial services, including spot trading, futures, staking, OTC services, subaccounts, and VALR Pay.
It is regulated by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and has raised $55 million in equity funding from major global investors such as Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, GSR, and F-Prime, the venture arm affiliated with Fidelity Investments.
With the addition of xStocks to its platform, VALR continues to position itself as a pioneer at the intersection of crypto and traditional finance, expanding investment opportunities for individuals and institutions throughout Africa.