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Pan-African digital asset exchange and lending platform.
Also known as CoinMara · CoinMara Inc. · Mara
Investors · 5
How we know: Tq Ventures Llc's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026CoinMara Inc., operating as Mara, was a pan-African cryptocurrency company founded in 2021 with the stated aim of "building Africa's crypto economy." It was set up as a pan-African exchange and, after raising capital in 2022, began developing a consumer crypto wallet and a layer-1 blockchain backed by Mara tokens. The company also ran a community program in which users earned Mara tokens for educating others about crypto, and it operated a non-profit arm, the Mara Foundation.
Mara launched the Mara Wallet in February 2023, claiming 4 million verified users, though a former executive later said at least 75% of those accounts were fraudulent, created in response to referral-program incentives. The company also worked on an over-the-counter trading product; management later told investors that an employee hired for that product stole $600,000 from its first OTC transaction. Mara reported no revenue for 2022 because no product had shipped that year.
After failing to raise follow-on financing during the 2023 crypto downturn, Mara cut staff twice and accumulated more than $3 million in unpaid vendor obligations. By April 2024 the company had stopped operating and users were redirected to Jara, a non-custodial wallet from a new entity registered by CEO Chinyere Nnadi.
Founding story
Mara (CoinMara Inc.) was founded in 2021, during the crypto market upswing of that year, by Chinyere 'Chi' Nnadi, Lucas Llinás Múnera, Kate Kallot and Dearg OBartuin, with the goal of giving young Africans a route into the crypto economy through a pan-African exchange.
Business model
Mara operated as a consumer-facing crypto platform, offering exchange services and, from February 2023, a custodial crypto wallet, alongside an over-the-counter trading product and a token-based ecosystem built around a planned layer-1 blockchain and Mara tokens. It reported no revenue in 2022.
Traction
Mara claimed 4 million verified users for its wallet at launch in February 2023, a figure a former executive said was inflated by fraudulent referral-driven accounts, and maintained a Telegram community of nearly 10,000 members. It reported no revenue in 2022.
Latest developments
By April 2024 Mara had ceased operating and users were told to migrate to Jara, a non-custodial wallet app from an entity registered by CEO Chinyere Nnadi in early 2024. Nnadi offered to move the equity of Mara's institutional investors and the tokenised shares of nearly 100 individual investors into Jara and said he had put $700,000 of his own money into the new company. Creditors were considering an involuntary bankruptcy claim against Mara.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Mara was one of the higher-profile African crypto startups of the 2021-2022 cycle, backed by Coinbase Ventures and Alameda Research, and competed with African crypto companies such as Yellow Card before ceasing operations.
Technology
Mara built a consumer crypto wallet and was developing a layer-1 blockchain backed by Mara tokens. It also worked on an over-the-counter trading product. Former executives described the engineering work behind the earlier products as poor, a characterisation echoed by the CEO when explaining the shift to a new non-custodial wallet.
Go-to-market
Growth was driven by consumer wallet distribution, a referral program with financial incentives, community channels including a Telegram group of nearly 10,000 members, and marketing campaigns; contemporaneous reporting cited marketing spending as a significant drain on resources.
Retail cryptocurrency users across Africa, including young people new to crypto, reached through wallet products, referral incentives and a token-rewarded education community.
Geography
Positioned as a pan-African platform serving users across the African continent; its non-profit arm, the Mara Foundation, was reported to be subject to action by the Swiss government, a claim that could not be independently verified.
History
Founded in 2021, Mara raised $23 million in May 2022 from Alameda Research, Coinbase Ventures and roughly 100 other investors at a $70 million pre-money valuation. Through 2022 it built a wallet and a layer-1 blockchain while reporting no revenue and a $15.9 million loss on 130 employees, ending the year with $5 million in cash. The Mara Wallet launched in February 2023, but three of the four cofounders departed in early 2023, follow-on fundraising talks for $2-5 million failed, and the company cut headcount twice by June 2023. CEO Chinyere Nnadi registered a new company, Jara, in early 2024; by April 2024 Mara had ceased to exist and users were directed to the Jara app. Creditors owed more than $3 million were subsequently weighing an involuntary bankruptcy claim.
Risks & controversies
Mara's collapse was attributed to heavy cash burn: a $15.9 million loss in 2022 with no revenue, $9.1 million spent on salaries, bonuses and allowances, and 130 employees. Directors earned a combined $2.6 million in 2022; the CEO's own salary was not disclosed in the financial statement. Two cofounders who left in early 2023 told investors the CEO took the company "down a dark and rotten path" and alleged that the successor entity Jara was created to avoid Mara's liabilities, with questions raised about oversight of company spending and a $500,000 donation to the Mara Foundation. A former executive said at least 75% of the claimed 4 million wallet users were fraudulent accounts. Vendors owed over $3 million were considering an involuntary bankruptcy claim. The CEO also said an employee stole $600,000 from the company's first OTC transaction. Mara's CEO did not respond to requests for comment.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsVendors providing compliance and communications services, owed over $3 million, were considering a Chapter 8/11 involuntary bankruptcy claim against Mara.
$3M source ↗
By April 2024 Mara was no longer operating; users in its Telegram group of nearly 10,000 members were told "Mara no longer exists" and urged to download Jara, a non-custodial wallet app from a new entity registered by CEO Chinyere Nnadi in early 2024. Nnadi offered to transfer institutional investors' equity and the tokenised shares of nearly 100 individual investors to Jara.
By June 2023 Mara had cut team size twice to save costs, including dismissing its marketing department, and appeared at risk of shutting down.
Mara launched the Mara Wallet, which the company said had 4 million verified users; a former executive later said at least 75% of those accounts were fraudulent, generated by the referral incentive program.
Three of Mara's four cofounders left the company in early 2023, leaving CEO Chinyere Nnadi running it alone; the departures unsettled investors.
Mara raised $23 million from Alameda Research, Coinbase Ventures and about 100 other investors at a $70 million pre-money valuation.
$23M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- TheRadar - Inside story of how Chi Nnadi’s crypto exchange Mara crashed with investors’ $23 milliontheradar.ng · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does CoinMara do?
- Pan-African crypto exchange and wallet operator, founded 2021, that ran out of cash and ceased operating by April 2024.
- Who are CoinMara's investors?
- CoinMara's investors include Mapleblock Capital, SilverFox, Tq Ventures Llc, Woodstock Fund.