SadaPay founder’s latest venture ZAR ‘exploring stablecoins in Pakistan’: Bloomberg

ZAR, a startup that is looking to “popularise the use of stablecoins through neighbourhood stores in Pakistan and other emerging countries” has secured $12.9 million in a financing round lead by Andreessen Horowitz and joined by Dragonfly Capital, VanEck Ventures, Coinbase Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst, Bloomberg reported.

ZAR was founded by Sebastian Scholl and Brandon Timinsky, who co-founded the startup after selling SadaPay to Turkey’s Papara in 2024.

Opinion: Stablecoins, sovereignty, risk, and governance

A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a reserve asset like a fiat currency (e.g., USD, EUR) or commodities (like gold).

This stability makes it useful for payments, trading, and storing value without the extreme volatility of typical cryptocurrencies.

Its advantages include faster and cheaper cross-border transactions, accessibility without traditional banks, transparency via blockchain, and reduced volatility compared to other crypto assets.

Opinion: Virtual Asset Ordinance 2025: Explanation and comments—I

On the other hand risks can include de-pegging (losing its fixed value), regulatory uncertainty, centralization if reserves are managed by a single entity, and potential lack of audit transparency about whether the reserves truly back the issued tokens.

A Fortune report from earlier this year said Timinsky believes his company will take advantage of the 28 million global registered mobile money agents — a person or business contracted to offer financial services outside of a bank — who facilitate more than $1.5 trillion worth of financial services annually.

According to the Bloomberg report, ZAR wants to test dollar-backed digital coins for Pakistan with the help of the “thousands of mobile phone kiosks, convenience stores and money agents that underpin daily life in Pakistan.”

“Across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, over a billion people live in cash economies where traditional banking services are unreliable, savings dwindle from inflation, and access to stable currencies like US dollars is limited,” ZAR was quoted as saying in its statement.

“Dollars are widely used for international transactions, online purchases, and cross-border business, yet for many people they are hard to reach.”

The startup’s fundraising coincides with Pakistan establishing the Virtual Assets Ordinance.

ZAR launched its platform earlier this year. Users walk into a local shop, scan a QR code and hand over cash in exchange for digital dollars in a mobile wallet, explained Bloomberg, allowing them to spend virtual money at stores without needing to understand stablecoins or blockchain technology.

The startup said its wallet is linked to a Visa card that’s accepted globally, the report said. If the model works, ZAR plans to expand to Africa in 2026, the report added.

ZAR has raised $20 million in total since inception.