CoinMENA, a soon-to-launch crypto exchange headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, has secured a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). The exchange unveiled this information through a press release on January 24, noting that CBB had granted it a Crypto Asset Services Company License, greenlighting it to operate in the Middle East. Reportedly, CoinMENA had to meet the regulator’s operational, technical, and security requirements to get this permit.
According to the news release, this license will see CoinMENA join the short list of fully-licensed crypto exchanges globally. However, unlike other crypto exchanges, CoinMENA had to go an extra mile to be Sharia-compliant. The exchange is certified by the Shariyah Review Bureau, meaning it can effectively serve its consumers. Allegedly, CoinMENA has strong banking relationships in the Middle East region. As such, it will let its clients deposit, trade, and withdraw cryptocurrencies in the local currency while offering the most competitive fees in the market.
Are you looking for fast-news, hot-tips and market analysis?
Sign-up for the Invezz newsletter, today.
Targeting a broad market
Per the publication, CoinMENA seeks to serve both retail and institutional crypto investors. At launch, the exchange will allow users to trade in five leading cryptocurrencies. These are bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), ripple (XRP), litecoin (LTC), and bitcoin cash (BCH). Apart from this, the exchange will also provide an over-the-counter (OTC) desk for executing large transactions smoothly. CoinMENA will also have a dedicated relationship manager whose task will be ensuring all trades go through without a hitch.
The CoinMENA platform will purportedly offer services to the crypto enthusiasts that live in the Kingdom of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait. Although the exchange will not offer access to a plethora of digital assets at launch, it would soon expand its offering and the jurisdictions in which it operates. Through this expansion, CoinMENA hopes to secure a position in the list of leading digital assets exchanges across the globe.
