Quick take:
- The fundraising also attracted participation from Coinbase Ventures and the co-founders of the Solana blockchain.
- Founded by Brandon Timinsky, Zar has already registered over 100,000 customer signups while over 7000 vendors have expressed interest.
- Vendors will be able to make money from the service by choosing their own exchange rates and adding a profit margin.
Brandon Timinsky, former CEO of a Pakistani payments company has raised $7 million for Zar, his newest project that seeks to bring stablecoin for fiat exchanges to the local mobile money store.
The funding round was led by Dragonfly Capital, A16z Crypto and Vaneck Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and the co-founders of the Solana blockchain, Fortune reported.
The company plans to use the capital to build a platform that leverages the existing physical network of mobile money service providers where users can exchange stablecoins for fiat. Some of the capital will also go towards expanding the team and adding an office space.
“Zar is tapping into that infrastructure to create a cash for stablecoin exchange in the physical world,” Timinsky told Fortune. “Like Coinbase is an exchange online, Zar is an exchange that exists in the physical world.”
According to Timinsky, Zar has already registered over 100,000 customer signups while over 7000 vendors have expressed interest.
Zar is looking to tap into the 28 million network of mobile payment agents who facilitate more than $1.5 trillion worth of financial services annually. The app’s interest spans 20 countries, according to Tsiminsky, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Argentina.
The announcement comes amid the growing interest in stablecoins. Plasma, which recently raised $24 million is building a blockchain focused on stablecoins, while Rain secured $24.5 million for its crypto card service.
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