Institutional rails for programmable money. The infrastructure driving the next financial era.
South Africa
Joined June 2026
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An institutional-grade stablecoin is finally on chain, and you can now move instantly between $USDC, $USDT and $ZARU, 24/7 in four African countries.
You can now trade $ZARU / $USDT and $ZARU / $USDC directly on @LunoGlobal in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, making it simpler to move between rand exposure and dollar-denominated digital assets.
To celebrate the launch, trading fees on both pairs are reduced for the first 90 days, from 6 August until 3 November 2026. Thereafter, standard trading fees will apply.
The more you trade, the lower your taker fee, while makers earn a rebate at every tier.
Start trading @ZARUniversal pairs now on Luno: bit.ly/45SRSZv
The digital rand in action⚡️
Awesome to see @LunoGlobal enabling users to spend @ZARUniversal at nearly 1 million South African merchants or everyday purchases like petrol and groceries.
A big step in bringing institutional-grade digital assets to everyday consumer payments.
Learn more below 👇
Your daily routine just got a major upgrade.
Whether you are filling up your tank at @Engen_SA, grabbing daily groceries at @WOOLWORTHS_SA or treating yourself to @KrispyKreme_ZA at Engen Forecourt, you can pay seamlessly with your Luno app.
Pay with @LunoGlobal Pay and enjoy 15% back in @tethergold ( $XAUT ) on eligible Engen purchases of R100 or more.
Just open the Luno app, tap Pay, and spend digital rands to earn digital gold at your nearest Engen today.
T&Cs apply. Learn more here: bit.ly/4dIz6Zk
We’re excited to see another team building with @ZARUniversal.
@JoinLipaworld has announced it plans to support ZARU on Lipaworld Business.
Once it’s live, Lipaworld business customers will be able to hold and transfer ZARU, move between ZARU and other global stablecoins, and pay suppliers and run payroll in rand.
More platforms means more choice for businesses on where and how they use ZARU.
Read the details: zaru.network/blog/lipaworld-…
Lipaworld officially plans to support @ZARUniversal, a rand-backed stablecoin on @JoinLipaworld Business.
Business customers will be able to hold digital rand alongside global stablecoins such as USDC & EURC, receive international payments and settle in rand.
Cross-border payments through correspondent banks typically settle in T+1 to T+3, tying up working capital. ZARU moves on 24/7 on-chain infrastructure.
Through Lipaworld Business, customers will be able to:
• Hold and transfer ZARU
• Move between ZARU, EURC and USDC
• Pay suppliers and run payroll in rand
"Stablecoins are changing how money moves globally, but we believe local currencies need to be part of that future." - Jonathan Katende, Co-founder & CEO, Lipaworld
Full details: zaru.network/blog/lipaworld-…
Blockchain Africa is coming to Gauteng, and @BlockTowerTech will be on the programme.
Our Chief Commercial Officer, Aleks Andjelopolj, takes the stage on Thursday, 15 October at 13:35 at PwC Waterfall City. He’ll give an overview of @ZARUniversal and the use cases it unlocks.
If you’re at the conference, make time for his session and say hello.
Programme and tickets: blockchainafrica.co/
Nkahiseng Ralepeli, @BlockTowerTech Director of Strategic Operations, joins a panel at Blockchain Africa on 15 October in Gauteng: “From Adoption to Trust: Building a Safe and Scalable Digital Asset Ecosystem in Africa.”
Attending? Find him afterwards and tell him what would make you trust crypto more.
blockchainafrica.co
BlockTower South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an authorised FSP (55172).
Your @ZARUniversal issuance, in one place.
The @BlockTowerTech Issuance Platform gives qualified institutional customers a simpler way to manage their ZARU activity:
✅️ Mint and redeem through a self-service portal with built in controls
✅️ Track your ZARU position, with real time updates
✅️ View and export transaction history
✅️ Keep an audit trail of account activity
Built for businesses that use ZARU as part of their day-to-day operations.
Learn more: bit.ly/4yAo9kF
Mobile money changed how Africa transacts. Stablecoins are set to be an even bigger leap.
In a recent @forbesafrica feature breaking down the continent's stablecoin moment, @BlockTowerTech's Strategic Operations Director, Nkahiseng Ralepeli explains why this shift is critical for financial infrastructure: "Where mobile money built new closed, friction-heavy networks, stablecoins provide an open network that any system can plug into."
From lowering exorbitant remittance fees to enabling seamless cross-border business, the transition to open networks is already underway.
See the numbers driving the shift and read the full piece here: forbesafrica.com/technology/…
When @ZARUniversal is part of your business flow, your minting and redemption processes need to keep up with your activity.
The @BlockTowerTech Issuance Platform allows you to initiate, approve, and track your ZARU minting and redemptions, all from one place.
With real-time status updates, full transaction history, and a streamlined flow, you get the visibility and control your business needs.
For businesses that require certainty in your operations and high-volume liquidity, this distinction matters.
A simpler way to manage ZARU issuance. Learn more about our new Issuance Platform here: bit.ly/4y0FbaA
More on how it works, the access controls, and how ZARU is licensed and backed, in BlockTower's latest blog 👇
blocktower.tech/insights/blo…
Introducing the @BlockTowerTech Issuance Platform.
A self-service platform built to make @ZARUniversal issuance simpler for qualified institutional customers.
Fund your verified BlockTower bank account and receive newly minted ZARU directly in your wallet automatically, once funds settle.
Need to redeem? Send ZARU through the platform and receive the rand value in your verified bank account.
Minting it in, redeeming it out, repeatedly with our new issuance platform.
Built for institutional issuance customers who mint and redeem ZARU directly with BlockTower.
Learn more here: bit.ly/4y0FbaA
Your business, your controls, one interface.
We are bringing a new level of autonomy to your digital asset operations. Soon, @ZARUniversal will be available to self-mint and redeem via the new @BlockTowerTech self-service issuance platform.
A simpler way to manage ZARU is coming.
BlockTower retweeted
ZARU is live on @arc.
As a founding currency pair on @circle StableFX, the ZARU/USDC pair now trades onchain, 24/7, in fully reserved stablecoins with near-instant settlement.
How it works: the ZARU/USDC pair executes through StableFX's Request-for-Quote engine and settles atomically on Arc.
Both legs of a trade settle together, or neither does. That manages the counterparty risk carried by traditional FX, where ZAR settlement has depended on correspondent banking and limited trading windows.
The evidence behind the pair:
✅️ Issued by @BlockTowerTech under FSCA licence
✅️ Fully reserved and independently attested monthly
✅️ Backed one-to-one by rand held onshore in South Africa
@LunoGlobal is the primary exchange venue for @ZARUniversal /USDC liquidity, bringing regulated trading infrastructure and an institutional client base to the network.
Investing in Crypto assets may result in the loss of capital. BlockTower SA (Pty) Ltd is an authorised FSP (55172).
As the issuer, our job is the reserve. Every @ZARUniversal is backed one-to-one by rand held onshore, FSCA-licensed, and independently attested monthly. Now live on @circle StableFX.
This is what a fully reserved digital rand looks like.
Read further in the announcement below or visit circle.com/stablefx to learn more about StableFX.
PRESS RELEASE | #ZARU Becomes First African Stablecoin to Go Live on #Arc Blockchain
@ZARUniversal (ZARU), South Africa’s first institutional-grade rand (ZAR) stablecoin, is now live on Arc – and simultaneously launches as a founding currency pair on Circle StableFX, which enables 24/7 programmable onchain foreign exchange with fully-reserved stablecoins and instant settlement to simplify global digital currency conversions.
The ZARU/USDC pair will settle atomically onchain via Arc through StableFX’s Request-for-Quote engine – both sides of a trade will settle or neither does, eliminating the counterparty risk that characterises traditional FX.
For the $ZAR, which has been historically constrained by correspondent banking friction and limited trading windows, this is a structural shift.
Additionally, @LunoGlobal will serve as the primary exchange venue for ZARU/USDC liquidity
Details: bitcoinke.io/2026/09/zaru-li…
#RandStablecoins #StablecoinMilestone #ZARUSDC
@arc @circle @ZARUniversal
BlockTower retweeted
With @ZARUniversal now live on @arc™, South African businesses and individuals can move digital rands globally, faster and more transparently 🌍🇿🇦
From cross-border payments and international settlements to spending and digital investing, ZARU opens up new ways to use the rand in a connected digital economy. No waiting, no unnecessary intermediaries.
Check out on this video to see what you can do with ZARU
More on the ecosystem: arc.io · @arc
Arc is a trademark of Circle Internet Group, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Investing in Crypto assets may result in the loss of capital. BlockTower SA (Pty) Ltd is an authorised FSP (55172).
BlockTower retweeted
What could institutional stablecoins look like in emerging markets?
At the very end of #LIDAC KL 2026, we’ll take a closer look at the @ZARUniversal ( $ZARU ) — a South African Rand-denominated stablecoin initiative developed through a collaborative framework involving BlockTower, regulated banking partners, and licensed asset managers.
The last session will offer an observational view of how financial institutions and digital asset platforms are working together to develop 24/7 liquid settlement infrastructure on public blockchains.
Speaker: Vighnesh Patel – CEO, @BlockTowerTech
Host: Roshan Kanesan – Producer & Presenter, @BFMradio
Explore the practical considerations behind institutional stablecoins, cross-border payments and central bank innovation across emerging markets.
🎟️ Join us for the final session at #LIDAC KL 2026. Secure your pass: lidac.io
BlockTower retweeted
What is @arc, and what does it make possible for South African users?
Arc™ is an open Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for financial markets and real-time money movement.
Think of Arc as giving a rand-pegged stablecoin like @ZARUniversal a passport. The rand stays the rand – South African, trusted, regulated, onshore – but now it can travel at the speed of the internet.
Learn more about ZARU on Arc: zaru.network/blog/zaru-goes-…
Explore the ecosystem: arc.io · @arc
Arc is a trademark of Circle Internet Group, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Investing in Crypto assets may result in the loss of capital. BlockTower SA (Pty) Ltd is an authorised FSP (55172).
BlockTower retweeted
On-chain Rand, without the friction.
@ZARUniversal brings institutional ZAR on-chain, and moving between ZAR and ZARU on @LunoGlobal is a simple 1:1 swap, zero fees, and instant.
For traders: Select Buy → Select Crypto → Choose ZARU. Enter the amount from your ZAR wallet. Review the quote, zero fees shown.
For developers using the API: Use the Convert endpoint in the Luno API.
Stable value, Rand-denominated, settling at the speed of crypto.
Stablecoins can make cross-border payments faster, but recipients may still need to off-ramp into local currency to pay suppliers and merchants.
That's where local-currency stablecoins can make a difference, connecting global stablecoin liquidity with local payments, treasury, and settlement needs.
Nkahiseng Ralepeli, Director of Strategic Operations at @BlockTowerTech, explained back in June at #LIDAC Cape Town why emerging-market stablecoins paired with dollar-denominated ones close that gap: no forced off-ramp, no delay in paying your supplier.
That's exactly what @ZARUniversal going live on @arc unlocks: rand-denominated value that moves globally, converts seamlessly with @USDC, and still settles as final payment onshore.
👉 See how ZARU works with Arc: zaru.network/blog/zaru-goes-…