Investing in ZAR +++ In many parts of the world, money doesn’t work the way it should. I saw this firsthand during my time traveling through Zimbabwe in 2013, and it’s actually how I first got into crypto. Inflation eats away at savings. Banks remain out of reach. Currencies lose value overnight. Yet people still need to save, send, and spend and they deserve tools they can rely on. My conviction from 12 years ago that crypto can solve these issues remains. Specifically, we believe crypto and stablecoins can offer that reliability, building open, borderless systems that make financial access possible for anyone with a phone. That’s why @liz_harkavy and I are proud to announce that we're leading a $12.9M funding round for @zardotapp, a platform bringing digital dollars to cash economies across emerging markets. ZAR is building a new financial layer that bridges the gap between local cash and digital currency. By partnering with neighborhood merchants, ZAR lets anyone convert physical cash into stablecoins and back again through a simple, familiar experience. Its decentralized infrastructure aligns the people who grow the network (from merchants to community partners), creating a transparent, incentive-driven system for expanding global financial access. This architecture scales trust. Merchants earn more than traditional money services, ambassadors build their own networks, and fraud is mitigated through smart contracts and cryptographic verification. It’s a bottom-up system designed for the realities of high-friction, high-inflation markets. Founded by @tmnsky (previously built Pakistan’s leading neobank, @sadapaypk) and @sebscholl, ZAR is launching first in Pakistan, with expansion plans across Africa and Latin America. We believe ZAR can become a cornerstone for stablecoin adoption, helping people everywhere store, move, and build with money that holds its value. Excited to support Brandon, Sebastian, and the ZAR team as they bring digital dollars on-chain to the world.
