Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is leading a $12.9 million funding round for ZAR. ZAR is a fintech startup that was founded just a year ago, aiming to promote dollar-pegged stablecoins to unbanked consumers in Pakistan and other emerging markets.
According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, this funding round also saw participation from institutions such as Dragonfly Capital, VanEck Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst. The World Bank estimates that over 100 million adults among Pakistan's 240 million population do not have a bank account.
Unlike many cryptocurrency companies that focus on applications or global exchanges, ZAR plans to distribute stablecoins through local stores, mobile top-up kiosks, and money agents, which are common channels for mobile recharges and remittances in the region.
The company stated that it hopes to enable citizens to access dollar-pegged digital currency without needing to understand blockchain or cryptocurrency technology.
Users can enter participating stores, scan a QR code, and exchange cash for stablecoins stored in a mobile wallet linked to a globally available Visa card. ZAR launched its platform earlier this year and reported strong early momentum in urban centers across Pakistan.
ZAR was co-founded by Sebastian Scholl and Brandon Timinsky, who sold their mobile wallet startup SadaPay to Turkish company Papara in 2024. To date, the company has raised a total of $20 million. If the pilot in Pakistan is successful, the company plans to expand this model to the African market by 2026.
This funding comes as Pakistan moves towards regulating virtual assets. Earlier this year, the government established the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) to oversee the development of the national digital asset industry.
Last month, Pakistan also opened its doors to international crypto businesses, inviting leading exchanges and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to apply for licenses under the new federal framework.
According to Cointelegraph, Pakistan jumped to third place in Chainalysis's 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, rising six spots to become one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the world.
Related: Bitcoin (BTC) "too expensive for retail investors," may end bull market cycle
Original article: “a16z leads $12.9 million funding round, ZAR brings stablecoins to Pakistan's unbanked population”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
