Interview: VALR.com CEO Farzam Ehsani on the future of crypto money

Loading player...
In this episode of the podcast, VALR.com co-founder and CEO Farzam Ehsani returns to the show for a wide-ranging discussion on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Ehsani talks about why he quit corporate South Africa – he was blockchain lead at RMB – to strike out on his own with VALR.com, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by heavy-hitter investors, including Michael Jordaan. He talks about the imminent launch, next week, of rand/bitcoin trading on VALR and what this will mean for local crypto investors.
The conversation then turns to the recent sharp rally in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, and what Ehsani believes has been driving them higher. How much of an impact will next year’s bitcoin block return halving having on the market – not much, yet, he says – and what is the prognosis for crypto assets?
Other questions Ehsani tackles include:
Can the unbanked – seen a target market for cryptos – ever hope to comprehend cryptocurrencies given the playing field is dominated by developers and geeks?
Does it matter that bitcoin is not (yet) being used widely as a currency for day-to-day transactions?
Should regulators become much more actively involved in the space to protect consumers?
Could bitcoin ever be worth US$1-million?
It’s a fascinating discussion about the future of money. Don’t miss the interview.
4 Jun 2019 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS | Barney Harmse on building Paratus Group – and working with Starlink

Paratus Group executive chairman Barney Harmse joins the TechCentral Show to share the story of the telecommunications group’s rise from small beginnings in Angola and Namibia more than 20 years ago and how it became one of Southern Africa’s biggest ICT infrastructure players. Paratus started life in Angola in 2003,…
3 Sep 56 min

TCS | Maziv goes massive: CEO Dietlof Mare on Vumatel’s big roll-out plans

Maziv, the company that owns Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, plans to spend R12-billion over the next five years as its ramps its deployment of fibre infrastructure across South Africa. Poised for a big injection of cash and assets from Vodacom, which is buying a 30% co-controlling stake in the…
26 Aug 52 min

TCS+ | Arctic Wolf on cybersecurity in the age of AI

What does it really take to defend a business in an era of AI-driven attacks? In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+ ,Clare Loveridge, vice president and GM for Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea), and Johnny Ellis, senior director of Emea channel sales, both at Arctic Wolf, go beyond the…
25 Aug 33 min

TCS | The story behind Nedbank’s R1.65-billion iKhokha deal

Nedbank announced last week that it was acquiring Durban-based fintech iKhokha in a R1.65-billion deal that could signal the start of further consolidation in the payments industry in South Africa. Nedbank described the deal as a “significant milestone” in its strategy to target small and medium enterprises. iKhokha co-founder and…
22 Aug 26 min