[PRESS RELEASE – Johannesburg, South Africa, May 18th, 2026]
VALR, Africa’s leading digital asset infrastructure provider, was the diamond sponsor of the Kenya Blockchain & Crypto Conference held in Nairobi on 14–15 May 2026.
Peter Mwangi, VALR’s newly appointed Country Manager for Kenya, delivered a keynote outlining his vision for Kenya as an emerging digital asset hub in Africa. He highlighted parallels between Kenya’s pioneering use of mobile money and the opportunities that digital assets present for payments, financial inclusion, and infrastructure. Shelley Havemann, VALR’s Head of Payments, joined a panel discussion on stablecoins, the future of payments, and VALR’s role in transforming finance.
VALR also hosted a meetup in Nairobi for finance and business leaders to explore partnership opportunities. These engagements reflect VALR’s strategic commitment to Kenya and support for the country’s growing digital asset ecosystem.
Kenya’s Digital Finance Leadership and Recent Regulatory Progress
Kenya is widely recognised for its early adoption of mobile money, which has driven major advances in financial inclusion, payments, and economic participation across the region. Recent regulatory steps have reinforced this foundation. The Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Act was enacted in October 2025 and took effect in November 2025. The Capital Markets Authority finalised the supporting 2026 VASP Regulations, establishing a clear licensing and oversight framework. This framework aligns Kenya with international standards, promotes investor protection and responsible innovation, and provides a solid basis for digital asset growth. Those developments support the vision Mwangi presented and strengthen Kenya’s position as an important digital asset market in Africa.
(Peter Mwangi, VALR’s Country Manager for Kenya)
VALR Brings Scale, Infrastructure, and Innovation
Founded in Johannesburg in 2018, VALR quickly became South Africa’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume and has grown into a leading digital asset infrastructure provider across Africa. VALR processes more than $15 billion in stablecoin volume annually and consistently ranks among the top global minters of USDC. The platform serves over 1.8 million registered users and more than 2,000 corporate and institutional clients, including companies listed on major exchanges.
VALR offers institutional-grade infrastructure and services: API integration, multi-account management, governance controls, an OTC desk, staking, lending, borrowing, VALR Pay, and crypto-as-a-service solutions that power other institutions’ offerings. The company recently launched an AI Service featuring an intuitive chat assistant for market analysis, account insights, and support, along with open API support for autonomous AI agents under the open Agent Skills Standard.
By participating in the conference and hosting the Nairobi meetup, VALR is taking its proven infrastructure and expertise directly to Kenyan institutions and the broader African market. The company welcomes conversations with Kenyan financial institutions and businesses interested in partnership opportunities.
About VALR
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Johannesburg, VALR is backed by leading investors including Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and F-Prime Capital. VALR is a global crypto exchange and a leading digital asset infrastructure provider in Africa, offering a comprehensive suite of products including Spot Trading, Spot Margin, Perpetual Futures, Staking, Lending, Borrowing, OTC services, VALR Invest, Crypto Bundles, and VALR Pay. Licensed by South Africa’s FSCA and with regulatory approval in Europe, VALR serves over 1.8 million registered users and 2,000 corporate and institutional clients worldwide. The exchange is committed to advancing a fair financial future that respects human dignity and promotes economic inclusion.