A $90 Bank Fee Ignited This Crypto Company to Raise $88M

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The latest Talking Tokens podcast 🎙️

On today’s Talking Tokens episode, I sat down with Chris Maurice, the co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card.

Yellow Card powers on-and-off ramp payments for over 30,000 businesses across Africa. It was Africa’s most funded crypto exchange after raising $88 million. It has since pivoted from retail crypto access to becoming the stablecoin backbone for businesses in high-friction markets.

They discuss Chris’ journey from selling Bitcoin at Taco Bell to running a multi-country exchange, why he dropped everything to fly to Nigeria on a one-way ticket, and how Yellow Card helps banks, importers, and even local vendors access USD liquidity through stablecoins. Chris also dives into navigating fear-based narratives about emerging markets, why local strategy trumps global assumptions, and how the future of cross-border finance lies in rebuilding the broken correspondent banking system.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro
1:01 – From selling Bitcoin on eBay to founding Yellow Card
5:53 – Meeting a Nigerian man changed everything
8:56 – Why Chris flew to Nigeria with no visa and one goal
11:00 – The origin of the name Yellow Card
13:00 – Why Lagos changed Chris’s worldview
15:09 – Misconceptions about emerging markets
18:31 – Pivoting Yellow Card from exchange to stablecoin rails
20:02 – How 99% of users switched to stablecoins
22:12 – Why stablecoins matter more in Argentina than NYC
23:13 – Replacing the broken cross-border banking system
30:30 – Working with 30,000 businesses across Africa
33:39 – Why localized strategy is key in Africa
37:15 – Case studies: pharma, food, and banking
40:04 – The future of Yellow Card and stablecoin infrastructure
42:12 – Advice: stop waiting, just get started

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Money and people moves

The biggest updates regarding teams that raised capital, moved money or did a little bit of both.

1. Derivatives exchange Avantis raised $8M in a round co-led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Pantera Capital

2. Rails launches perps-only crypto exchange in the U.S. with $14 million in new funding to build a better FTX (Fortune)

3. Paradigm leads $5 million seed round in crypto credit startup 3Jane (The Block)

4. Healthcare Tech Company Semler Buys More Bitcoin, Holdings Near $472 Million (Decrypt)

Talking points for the road

Crypto-focused headlines or research that caught my eye…and should catch yours, too.

1. Pump.fun plans $1B token sale at $4B valuation: Sources (Blockworks)

2. Bitwise CIO urges investors to rethink bitcoin’s role in traditional portfolios and avoid adding it in isolation (The Block)

3. Tether’s Focus on Non-US Markets Highlights Stablecoin Hotspots (Bloomberg)

4. MARA Hits Record-High Bitcoin Production in May (Decrypt)

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