Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher
Editor: TB, ChainCatcher
In the wave of payment innovation, new companies are emerging, and the digital dollar wallet Zar is one of them. Unlike most startups focusing on the US market, Zar initially targets cash-dominant economies in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Zar offers a digital dollar wallet where users can find nearby supported merchants through the app, conveniently exchange cash for stablecoins, and spend at global Visa-accepting merchants using the linked Visa debit card.
How Does Zar Operate?
Zar focuses on providing a channel for converting cash to US dollar stablecoins in emerging markets. Zar believes that in countries with cash-dominant economies and high local currency volatility, users have higher trust in the US dollar and potential market opportunity.
Zar does not build a payment network from scratch but leverages existing "trust agent networks" in each country: convenience stores in Latin America, phone top-up shops in South Asia, and remittance sites in Africa, which process hundreds of billions of dollars in cash flow annually.
Users simply walk into a nearby store, scan Zar's QR code, view merchant ratings through the mobile app, enter the exchange amount, and hand over cash. Within seconds, they receive equivalent stablecoins in their mobile wallet. These stablecoins can be used for savings, transfers, or daily expenses, while merchants earn revenue through exchange rate differences and Zar platform incentives.
Zar also provides a "non-crypto native user-friendly" self-custodial wallet with a spendable Visa card, creating a complete closed loop from "cash" to "stablecoin" to "payment consumption".
Team Background
Zar's founder and CEO, Brandon Timinsky, graduated from the University of Miami in marketing and entrepreneurship and studied economics at Florida International University. According to LinkedIn, he has founded 10 projects since 2005, covering web design, real estate SaaS platforms, enterprise fleet fuel management solutions, and high-performance skincare and anti-aging products for men.
His most representative project is the digital bank SadaPay, which achieved over $1.5 billion in annual transaction volume within five years. In September 2024, Timinsky founded Zar to provide a more convenient stablecoin access channel for people living in monetarily unstable regions.
Zar's co-founder, Sebastian Scholl, graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science. He previously worked as a web development engineer at XO Group and later served as the Director of Product and Developer Relations at 8base. In December 2022, he founded the AI content platform Walkthrough.ai, focusing on generative content tools. In September 2024, Scholl co-founded Zar.
Left: Brandon Timinsky, Right: Sebastian Scholl
Project Progress
In October 2024, Zar completed its angel round, gaining support from notable angel investors including Toly, co-founder of Solana Labs, and Balaji, former Coinbase CTO. Subsequently, on April 30, 2025, Zar announced a $7 million funding round led by prominent institutions such as Dragonfly Capital, a16z, VanEck, and Coinbase Ventures.
Zar has not yet officially launched, but the company reports approximately 100,000 users on the waiting list and around 7,000 merchants expressing interest, covering countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Argentina. Zar plans to officially launch services by late summer, starting in Pakistan, with no immediate plans to enter the US market, and will gradually expand to more countries based on market feedback.
(This article only introduces an early-stage project and should not be considered investment advice.)
