VALR: Scaling for Humanity?

From McKinsey to Africa's Largest Crypto Exchange: Farzam Ehsani of VALR | by Silicon Overdrive | AWS Founders Series In this session of the Silicon Overdrive & AWS Founders Series, Colin Iles sits down with Farzam Ehsani, Co-Founder and CEO of VALR, Africa's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Farzam shares the moment he resigned from RMB on his first day back from paternity leave, why he believes the global financial system has too much friction, and how VALR navigated the chaos that destroyed Celsius, BlockFi, and FTX while quietly building one of Africa's most profitable and compliant fintech companies. They cover: Leaving a comfortable corporate career to build an exchange in a bear market The liquidity problem that almost killed the business before it launched How a paper called "The Advent of Crypto Banking" led to VALR's first investor Why VALR KYC'd every single customer from day one, before it was even required VALR's zero regulatory fines across eight years of operation The future of stablecoins, payments, and digital asset treasury companies (DATs) What a universal, cryptographic monetary system might actually look like Farzam also makes a candid case for why VALR will not be a crypto exchange forever, describing the company's ambition to become a full financial institution serving people's needs faster, cheaper, and better than traditional banks. Whether you are a founder navigating your first funding conversation, a business leader thinking about crypto infrastructure, or simply curious about where global finance is heading, this is a conversation worth your time.