VALR Disrupts South African Finance: xStocks Opens U.S. Market Access—No Wall Street Suits Required
Cape Town’s crypto exchange just handed South Africans a golden ticket—minus the SEC paperwork. VALR’s xStocks lets traders tap into Tesla, Apple, and other U.S. giants without the usual brokerage headaches. Who needs a 401(k) when you’ve got Bitcoin and now fractional shares?
Breaking Down the Barrier
Traditional finance gatekeepers hate this one trick: VALR bypasses legacy systems by tokenizing U.S. equities. No middlemen, no $50 wire fees—just direct exposure through their crypto-native platform. Finally, a use case for blockchain that doesn’t involve JPEGs of apes.
The Cynic’s Corner
Because nothing says ‘financial liberation’ like tying your portfolio to both crypto volatility and the S&P 500’s mood swings. At least when it crashes, you can blame two markets instead of one.
Africa’s top crypto exchange, VALR, just rolled out something new: xStocks. Starting today, customers in South Africa can buy tokenized slices of big U.S. companies, think Tesla, NVIDIA, Robinhood, Circle and Coinbase, right from their VALR account. It’s a first for the region and makes it way easier to invest in those high-flying names without setting up a foreign brokerage.
Here’s how it works: Backed, the token issuer, launched xStocks in May 2025. Each token is fully backed 1:1 by the real shares or ETFs, so its price moves exactly the same way. But don’t expect dividends or voting rights, xStocks are all about price exposure. You can trade them on VALR’s spot market against USDT, Bitcoin, Ether or even the South African rand through the Simple Buy/Sell terminal. And because they run on Solana, deposits and withdrawals are quick and cheap.
Access to Blue-Chip U.S. Shares
Tokenizing real-world assets is catching on everywhere, and VALR is hopping on that trend. Instead of wrestling with forex controls or complicated U.S. brokerage paperwork, African investors can now diversify into global stocks in a few clicks. It’s a big step toward leveling the playing field and making those blue-chip companies accessible to everyone.
This launch follows quickly on the heels of VALR’s new USD Private Credit Token (USDPC) from Garrington Capital, a yield-bearing product in the VALR Invest lineup. Together, they show how VALR is expanding beyond straightforward crypto trading. Whether you’re into spot margin, futures, staking or OTC trades, VALR is building out tools to help you spread your bets and potentially boost returns.
Farzam Ehsani, VALR’s Co-Founder and CEO, says the goal is simple: “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. By blending crypto and traditional finance, we are forging a financial system that brings down barriers and serves many more with unprecedented ease. This initiative not only strengthens VALR’s global profile but also reaffirms our commitment to bringing innovation and progress to our phenomenal community of VALR users.”
David Henderson, Head of Growth at Backed, is equally excited: “We’re excited to have xStocks on VALR, marking another step in the xStocks mission to bring tokenised equities to users worldwide, in the platforms they use. We have seen incredible adoption for these assets, and now users from Africa will be able to access them on VALR, participating in tokenised capital markets.”
VALR, founded in 2018 and based in Johannesburg, is licensed by South Africa’s FSCA and also serves parts of the EU. It’s backed by heavy hitters like Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, GSR and F-Prime, with $55 million in funding so far. With over 1.5 million users and 1,400 institutional clients, VALR is proving there’s a huge appetite for new ways to invest, whether that’s crypto tokens or now, tokenized U.S. stocks.
