VALR, Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has launched perpetual futures trading, with Bitcoin and USDT perpetual futures paired against the South African Rand (ZAR). The products will trade as BTC/ZAR and USDT/ZAR, while the BTC/USDT perpetual pair is VALR’s response to similar products offered by the likes of Binance, ByBit and Kraken.
As the name suggests, perpetual futures are contracts with no expiry date. They are typically in the crypto market, where risk appetite is high. On the other hand, traditional futures contracts have an expiry date. Crypto perpetual futures have grown in popularity in recent times, accounting for more than 70% of global crypto trading volume. However, these products require more sophisticated risk-management strategies.
VALR’s perpetual futures, key milestones and growth plans
For its new product, VALR is offering investors up to 5x leverage, giving them the chance to make more profit. In addition, VALR supports spot margin trading, and users can also trade in the spot and futures markets from a single source of collateral. Currently, however, perpetual futures trading is only available on VALR.com, but the company intends to roll out support for its mobile app in the coming days.
Keen to expand its global reach, VALR recently formed a partnership with payments giant Visa and also received approval to offer crypto services in Europe. Furthermore, the company has applied for an operating license in Mauritius and has obtained initial approval from Dubai’s, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
VALR has proven its worth, with 500,000+ retail customers, and having processed over $10 billion in trading volume since it began operations in 2018. In addition, it has attracted significant investor interest and raised $55 million in equity funding. Furthermore, the company has over 900 corporate and institutional clients, including Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, and Fidelity Investments’ VC arm, Avon Ventures.