Swiss Recognition for African Innovation
African crypto startup Blockradar has emerged as the winner of the prestigious Crypto Valley Conference Startup Competition 2025, held in Switzerland on Friday. The Nigerian-founded company, which builds stablecoin wallet infrastructure for fintechs and enterprises, was the only African representative in a cohort of 11 global finalists.
Blockradar clinched the top prize, securing $1.2 million in soft commitment funding, alongside other prizes designed to accelerate product development and go-to-market execution. The win marks a significant moment for African Web3 innovation on a global stage, especially within infrastructure-focused crypto applications.
What Is Blockradar Building?
Blockradar offers a wallet-as-a-service platform that allows fintechs and businesses to issue non-custodial stablecoin wallets. Its solution is tailored for emerging markets where cross-border payments, USD access, and stablecoin rails are increasingly essential for survival amid inflation and weak banking systems.
The platform supports on- and off-ramps for digital dollars like $USDC and $USDT, enabling seamless payments for remittances, payroll, and digital commerce.
A Strong Pitch by a Former Coinbase Exec
The company’s winning pitch was delivered by Morgan Williams, Blockradar’s newly appointed Chief Operating Officer and former Coinbase employee. Williams joined Blockradar just two months ago and emphasized how the product directly addresses real-world pain points in global fintech operations.
“We’re incredibly proud of this milestone! Winning and receiving soft commitment funding is a major vote of confidence in what we’re building,” Williams told Mariblock.
“As a company born out of emerging markets, we’re committed to delivering real-world stablecoin infrastructure that solves urgent payment problems for fintechs around the world.”
About the Competition
Held annually in Zug, Switzerland , the heart of Europe’s “Crypto Valley” , the Crypto Valley Conference Startup Competition is one of the most competitive and prestigious early-stage crypto startup showcases globally. Finalists are judged on product innovation, market potential, team strength, and technical feasibility.
Blockradar competed against 11 startups across the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, many of which were building in areas like DeFi, decentralized identity, and Layer-2 infrastructure.
Blockradar’s victory signals growing validation for African-led blockchain startups on global platforms. As stablecoins continue to gain traction in countries with limited access to U.S. dollars or functional cross-border payment rails, solutions like Blockradar’s are uniquely positioned for scale, especially in frontier markets.
The win also underscores a broader shift: Africa is no longer just a market for crypto adoption, it’s becoming a cradle of blockchain infrastructure development.
