STABLECOINS | South African RWA Marketplace, AgriDex, Hits $9 Million Milestone in Stablecoin Trades Across African Markets

AgriDex, a Solana-based agricultural marketplace, says it has processed more than $9 million in stablecoin-powered trades so far as it seeks to bring blockchain payments to the $2.7 trillion global agricultural market.

The milestone comes after a $1.5 million cross-border deal in grain and fertilizer was completed and settled instantly in $USDC via the platform by African agricultural commodity trading firm Graintrade, covering:

• Zimbabwe
• Mozambique, and
• South Africa

“Agricultural businesses across Africa are constrained by inefficiencies, which tie up working capital and erode margins.

By enabling instant, low-cost settlement, AgriDex gives producers and traders in developing markets like Africa the help they need to grow,” said Henry Duckworth, CEO of AgriDex.

Settled in Circle’s USDC stablecoin, the trade bypassed the usual 3-to 5-day banking delays and high banking fees that accompany standard cross-border payments. Graintrade CFO, Morkel van Tonder**,** said that the ability to move $1.5 million the same day ‘is transformative for regional agri-trade.’

Duckworth also remarked that farmers and traders ‘don’t need any prior experience with crypto to use the platform,’ describing it as a ‘simple trade platform where they can trade and settle instantly in stablecoins, without having to interact with technical blockchain processes.’

On-Chain Agriculture

AgriDex offers services across seven African markets – including Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Nigeria, and Mauritius. While Africa remains AgriDex’s primary focus today, the company is also gearing up to expand into Latin America and Central Asia, with rollouts planned to begin in Q2 2026, Duckworth revealed.

“Both regions face similar challenges around cross-border trade, high fees, and slow settlement, so we see strong potential to replicate our model there,” he explained.

This isn’t AgriDex’s only on-chain trade. In December 2024, as reported by BitKE, the platform executed the first on-chain coffee trade. Tiki Tonga Coffee, a UK-based coffee brand, carried out the transaction, exporting premium coffee to South Africa. The payment, made in South African Rand (ZAR), was settled in British pounds (GBP) via the AgriDex blockchain.

In March 2025, as reported by BitKE, AgriDex facilitated the first-ever farmland deal on Solana. A contract denoting ownership of the land in Zambia, valued at $165,000 was transferred, with settlement occurring instantly and at zero cost. In contrast this transaction would have taken between 1-5 business days to clear an international bank transaction, and could cost significant amounts of capital.

Beyond facilitating stablecoin trades, Duckworth noted that the platform offers yielding stablecoin accounts that help hedge against fluctuations in local African currencies:

“This gives traders a reliable dollar-backed option to preserve value, while still enabling them to manage liquidity needs across multiple currencies.”

In December 2024, AgriDex raised over $9 million in a strategic funding round led by Portal Ventures, combining equity and token investments and valuing the startup at $28.5 million post-money.

Stay tuned to BitKE updates on RWA and stablecoins use cases from across Africa.

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