Altcoin News: Bittrex Has Invested $1.5 Million in South African Trading Platform

March 2, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

Bittrex Cryptocurrency Exchange held a $1.5 million round of start-up financing for the South African VALR cryptocurrency platform.

Starting today, 50 cryptocurrencies are available for trading on the platform. VALR co-founder and CEO Farzam Ehsani reported that 1,500 users have registered at the beta testing stage on the platform, most of whom live in South Africa.

Commenting on the decision to support the VALR platform, Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara noted that the South African market has great potential.

“Companies are not allowed to go and buy [large amounts of] crypto from offshore markets. This makes it very difficult for crypto exchanges in South Africa to access liquidity from international markets. [South Africans] want their hands on a store of value that doesn’t depreciate the way the rand has.” said Ehsani to CoinDesk.

It should be noted that the national currency of the Republic of South Africa over the past decade has almost doubled in value. At the same time, the number of transactions with foreign assets or currencies may not exceed $72,000.

Bittrex will take part in VALR operations, providing the platform with global liquidity and competitive prices for trading cryptocurrencies. Ehsani noted that closer to the summer it is planned to add support for crypto-fiat trading to the site.

Recall that at the moment in the Republic there is no regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, and the working group created by the government should develop relevant guidelines during this year.

In addition, the financial giant Old Mutual conducted a survey among African residents to find out if they were willing to invest in cryptocurrency assets. The survey results showed that only 15% of respondents in the future see themselves as investors in digital currencies, and 71% of respondents know about cryptocurrencies.

Author: Marko Vidrih