Global peer-to-peer payments fintechPaxfulsays it now has over six million users and over $5 billion has been traded on its platform since inception.
Paxful was founded in 2015 and has its headquarters in New York, with offices in Estonia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Johannesburg.
The platform allows users to buy and sell digital currencies as the means of exchange and make payments, transactions and send money.
With close to 400 different ways to buy and sell digital currencies, from gift cards to bank transfers, the fintech company currently hosts over three million wallets, 45% of which are from Africa.
As of April 2021, the top five countries by volume on the platform are Nigeria, China, US, India and Kenya, and the company says it expects 20% growth this year.
“Our mission at Paxful is to give everyone equal access to finance, no matter who they are or where they are, so they can control their own money and build the future they want with financial freedom,” says Ray Youssef, CEO and co-founder of Paxful.
“The financial system is failing 99% of the world’s population; it’s disconnected and out of date. This means there’s no way out of income inequality for a lot of people in the world. With crypto-currencies, we see an alternative way to create a financial system based on equality. Hitting the $5 billion volume mark shows us we are making a difference and we’re just getting started.”
The company says so far this year, it has seen over 15% growth in average monthly volumes compared to 2020, and it expects this to continue and increase as the year progresses.
Last year, the company announced it was actively looking to join forces with African-born crypto players, as it looks to grow its market share on the continent.
In 2019, the crypto platform launched a series of educational workshops across Africa as a way to increase access to the Bitcoin economy for the youth on the continent.
With millions of users globally and Africa being among the fastest-growing regions, Paxful says it processed almost $1.6 billion (R23 billion) in trade volume globally in 2019 and the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated growth on its platform.
The company says its team has doubled in size over the last 12 months, growing to over 400 people.
“We’re on track for a 20%+ increase in customer volume this year. We’re seeing growth in all our markets and especially among groups or in countries where there’s a real need for crypto-currencies – where the traditional financial system is failing people, whether that’s because of extreme volatility, strict capital controls or high transaction costs. People are looking for freedom from these constraints and they find that in crypto-currencies,” adds Youssef.
Share