Brandon Timinsky, the ex-CEO of a Pakistani payments firm, has secured $7 million in funding for Zar, his latest venture aiming to bring stablecoin-fiat exchanges to local mobile money stores.
The funding round was spearheaded by Dragonfly Capital, A16z Crypto, and Vaneck Ventures, with contributions from Coinbase Ventures and the co-founders of the Solana blockchain, as reported by Fortune.
This capital will be utilized by Zar to construct a platform that leverages the existing physical network of mobile money service providers, enabling users to exchange stablecoins for fiat in a seamless manner. A portion of the funds will also be allocated towards expanding the team and establishing an office space.
"Zar is tapping into that infrastructure to create a cash for stablecoin exchange in the physical world," explained Timinsky. "Like Coinbase is an exchange online, Zar is an exchange that exists in the physical world."
As stated by Timinsky, Zar has already registered over 100,000 customer signups, while interest from over 7000 vendors has been secured.
The company is focused on integrating with the 28 million network of mobile payment agents who facilitate more than $1.5 trillion in financial services each year. The app's interest spans 20 countries, according to Tsiminsky, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Argentina.
This announcement follows the recent surge in interest towards stablecoins. Plasma, which recently raised $24 million, is developing a blockchain specifically designed for stablecoins, while Rain secured $24.5 million for its crypto card service.
