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Fintech Tala Raises $145M to Launch Crypto Product for Emerging Markets
The startup will also expand its financial services for the unbanked.
By Brandy Betz
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:09 p.m. Published Oct 14, 2021, 1:14 p.m.
Fintech startup Tala has raised $145 million in a Series E funding round to expand its financial services and develop a mass-market crypto product for emerging markets. Lending platform Upstart led the round, which Tala says brings its total funding to more than $350 million.
The company said in a blog post that it will use the funding to “accelerate the rollout of our new financial account experience, which provides fresh new tools to grow, save and manage your money. We’ll also work to develop one of the first mass-market crypto products for emerging markets to help make crypto solutions more affordable and equitable for those who need them most.”
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Other participants in the round included the Stellar Development Foundation, Kindred Ventures and the J. Safra Group. Returning investors included IVP, Revolution Growth, PayPal Ventures and Lowercase Capital.
Tala offers financial services to the traditionally unbanked through a consumer credit app that underwrites and distributes loans ranging from $10 to $500 with rates starting at 4%. The company says more than 6 million people have used the mobile app to borrow more than $2.7 billion across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico and India.
Visa partnered with Tala earlier this year to drive crypto adoption in emerging markets by offering access to USD Coin, the stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar. Tala provided access to USDC through its digital wallet, and Visa offered the ability to link payment cards to the wallet. The collaboration also included USDC operator Circle and the Stellar Development Foundation.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
Yang perlu diketahui:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Tom Lee urges BitMine shareholders to approve share increase ahead of January 14 vote
The chairman of the former bitcoin miner-turned-ether treasury firm reiterated his view that Ethereum is the future of finance.
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- Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), urged shareholders to approve an increase in the company's authorized share count from 500 million to 50 billion.
- Lee assured shareholders that the increase is not intended to dilute shares, but instead to enable capital raising, dealmaking, and future share splits.
- Shareholders have until January 14 to vote on the proposal, with the annual meeting scheduled for January 15 in Las Vegas.
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