“You might think it's risky now to enter crypto. But I can promise you that time is going to flip very quickly where it's going to be risky not to enter crypto” - Farzam Ehsani Capital controls and Government bans have always made launching a crypto exchange in Africa challenging and in this episode, Ian Andrews (CMO, Chainalysis) sits down with Farzam Ehsani (Co-founder and CEO, VALR), who discusses the journey of South Africa's largest cryptocurrency exchange,from the company's inception in 2018 to securing multiple global licenses. Farzam shares insights on financial sovereignty, regulatory challenges, and the evolving crypto landscape, while reflecting on transitioning from banking to crypto and underscores the importance of integrity and choice in finance. He announces The VALR Grand Slam trading competition, where there is a $60 Million USDT prize pool and  looks forward to  expanding VALR's global footprint and making cryptocurrencies more accessible through innovative financial solutions. Minute-by-minute episode breakdown 2 | Farzam’s introduction to Bitcoin and how it helped him understand the traditional finance ecosystem   4 | The balance of self sovereignty and acting as a custodial crypto exchange  7 | How traditional banks decided to move into crypto and the launch of VALR crypto exchange 15 | The rigorous process of obtaining licenses in multiple jurisdictions and adhering to international regulatory requirements and capital controls 25 | Understanding whether VALR is appealing to retail or institutional clients or both  30 | Is VALR launching its own exchange token or security token? 33 | The challenges with listing tokens and keeping up with customer demand on memecoins   36 | VALR raises $50 million in Africa’s largest ever crypto raise and even turned away investors 38 | VALR announces $60 Million Grand Slam of Trading Competitions Related resources Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key. Website: VALR: Trade spot, margin, futures & OTC on the best crypto trading platform Video: Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town Conference (Farzam Ehsani "Truth" Talk) Article: Coindesk: The False Promise Blockchains Will Revolutionize Real-World Assets Blog: Exploring Crypto Adoption in Africa: Growth and Barriers Programme: VALR $60 Million Grand Slam of Trading Competitions Blog: Cryptocurrency Penetrates Key Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa as an Inflation Mitigation and Trading Vehicle Event: TraceDC (Early Bird Ticket Prices available until June 15, 2024) Blog: Introduction to Zero-Knowledge Proofs YouTube: Chainalysis YouTube page Twitter: Chainalysis Twitter: Building trust in blockchain Tik Tok: Building trust in #blockchains among people, businesses, and governments. Telegram: Chainalysis on Telegram  Speakers on today’s episode Ian Andrews * Host * (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis)  Farzam Ehsani (Co-founder and CEO, VALR) This website may contain links to third-party sites that are not under the control of Chainalysis, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively “Chainalysis”). Access to such information does not imply association with, endorsement of, approval of, or recommendation by Chainalysis of the site or its operators, and Chainalysis is not responsible for the products, services, or other content hosted therein. Our podcasts are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to provide legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. Listeners should consult their own advisors before making these types of decisions. Chainalysis has no responsibility or liability for any decision made or any other acts or omissions in connection with your use of this material. Chainalysis does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of the information in any particular podcast and will not be responsible for any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies of any part of