Three years since taking its first step toward becoming a regulated entity, Shariah compliant Rain has become the first digital currency exchange in the Middle East to be licensed. There is little doubt that the regulatory reassurance has helped the digital exchange seal its US$2.5 million seed round.
Led by the largest futures cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX Ventures and Kuwaiti cryptocurrency fund Blockwater, the seed round attracted the participation of Vision Ventures, 500 Startups MENA and Taibah Valley. The exchange is also backed by investors including crypto advocates Jimmy Song, Mike Komarnsky, Aaron Lasher and Aaron Voisine, Compound.finance, CMT Digital and the founding team of JMBullion. It is now looking to grow its team.
The announcement of the successful seed round follows confirmation of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) granting Rain a Crypto-Asset Module license indicating that Rain complies with the regulator’s requirements around, among others, capital adequacy, cyber security, insurance, reporting, and corporate governance.
“By becoming a licensed exchange, we are able to form more lasting relationships with our banking partners and payment processors. This has led to more stable banking relationships, better pricing, lower fees, and more reliable deposit and withdrawal processes for our customers,” the exchange said.
The first digital exchange to graduate from CBB’s fintech regulatory sandbox, Rain enables crypto investors to trade and store cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple. The platform is currently available in five of the six GCC countries except for Qatar.
“With a license secured and our initial seed capital raised, we believe that this is the foundation of a company that will last for decades. Rain will maintain focus on our mission to create a top international exchange and provide a way to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrency in a regulated, secure, and compliant way,” Rain shared.