Bahrain-based digital asset trading platform CoinMENA has acquired $9.5 million via a seed round.
@CoinMENA Raises $9.5M Seed Fund #CoinMENA #Blockchain #Cryptocurrency #Crypto #DeFi https://t.co/vVH1vVj6ED pic.twitter.com/V05Ii2CabS
— Head of DeFi @Spectrum Search – Blockchain Bully (@JobsBlockhain) November 12, 2021
As mentioned in the announcement, this is CoinMENA’s first major investment. The round is also reportedly one of the largest seed rounds to have been finalized during 2021 by a MENA region Fintech firm (along with other Fintechs like Ziina, Tamara, and Tarabut Gateway).
Investors BECO Capital, Kenetic, Arab Bank Switzerland, Bunat Ventures, Alameda Research, Rua Growth Fund, and Girnas Capital took part in the investment round, along with various angel investors. As noted in the update, BECO Capital is well-known for its investments in Swvl, Kitopi, and Careem.
The digital currency exchange, which is regulated and licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, had launched earlier in 2021 by company founders Dina Saman, Talal Tabbaa, and Yazan Barghuthi.
As confirmed in the announcement, the platform is available to consumers residing in Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman. CoinMENA’s management revealed that they’ve got plans to expand their business operations into other MENA region markets.
The firm is competing for market share with the virtual currency exchanges BitOasis and Rain, as overall interest in crypto investments across the Middle East has been rising rapidly.
As noted in the announcement, CoinMENA acquired its license from the Central Bank of Bahrain in January 2021. After obtaining the permit, the platform officially went live with five major crypto-assets including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
The Sharia-compliant cryptocurrency trading platform offers access to 10 virtual currencies. In addition, to support for trading, CoinMENA provides an over-the-counter (OTC) desk for transactions of larger volumes.
Recently, CoinMENA entered an agreement with the Dubai World Trade Centre Free Zone to launch a crypto and blockchain/DLT hub in the United Arab Emirates.
The firm’s founders stated:
“With growing awareness about crypto assets and their transformative potential, appetite from both retail and institutional investors in the MENA region is growing at a rapid pace. Our strategic capital partnerships provide support for our vision to increase the adoption of crypto assets in the region in a regulated and seamless manner. We believe that this is a positive outlook for the crypto assets sector over the coming years both locally and globally.”
