Yellow Card raises $33 million in Series C funding to drive global expansion   

Crypto startup, Yellow Card, has announced the successful closing of its Series C financing, raising $33 million.

The round was led by Blockchain Capital and supported by prominent investors including Polychain Capital, Third Prime Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Block, Inc., Galaxy Ventures, Blockchain Coinvestors, Hutt Capital, and Winklevoss Capital.

This new funding brings Yellow Card’s total equity financing to $85 million and marks a significant milestone in both the company’s journey and Africa’s fintech industry.

Powering digital assets in Africa 

Chris Maurice, CEO and co-founder of Yellow Card emphasized the significance of this latest fundraise, stating:

 “This fundraiser not only demonstrates our resilience but also highlights the vital role of digital assets for businesses across Africa.  

“We are excited about the opportunities, partnerships, and journey ahead, and I’m proud to work with an incredible cohort of investors that share our vision for the industry and the continent.” 

• Since its inception in Nigeria in 2019, Yellow Card has become a pioneer in Africa’s crypto space.

• The company operates in 20 countries across the continent and has facilitated over $3 billion in transactions.

• With this new capital, Yellow Card plans to accelerate its growth and expansion efforts, focusing on enhancing its API and widget products, which serve as gateways for international businesses, such as Coinbase and Block, to access African markets.

• In addition to enhancing its product offerings, the company said the funds would support the development of innovative solutions for Africa, strengthening its team, and continuing engagement with regulators across the continent.

• Commenting on the fundraising, General Partner at Blockchain Capital, Aleks Larsen, expressed confidence in Yellow Card’s mission.

“The future of payments lies in fast, affordable rails for everyone, powered by open networks. We couldn’t be more excited to back Yellow Card as they bring Africa on-chain with stablecoins,” he said.  

What you should know 

Yellow Card’s latest fundraising highlights the growing importance of stablecoins across the continent and their potential for global applications.

While Sub-Saharan Africa lags behind the rest of the world in crypto volume, accounting for under 3% of the total transactions performed between July 2023 and 2024, the region has more practical and compelling use cases for crypto than the West. Nigeria, for instance, has the second highest crypto adoption globally; Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa are in the top 30, according to a recent report by Chainalysis‘.

Stablecoins, particularly, have become the center of utility in Africa’s crypto economy and this is because most African countries have highly volatile local currencies and limited access to the U.S. dollar.

This is pushing many Africans to store value by hedging against inflation and currency devaluation through stablecoins pegged to the dollar, such as USDT and USDC.