Bahraini cryptocurrency exchange eyes GCC launch in 2019
Rain, a Bahraini cryptocurrency exchange backed by bitcoin developer Jimmy Song, aims to secure a full operational licence in 2019 to expand its operations in the GCC.
If successful, the company would be the first regulated digital currency exchange in the region. The oversight could provide comfort to investors wary of cryptocurrency trading, which has been been beset by lack of global regulation, recent high-profile heists of digital coins and market volatility.
“The biggest issue in this industry is that of trust,” Rain’s co-founders Yehia Badawy, Abdullah Almoaiqel, AJ Nelson and Joseph Dallago, said in a statement.
“We want our customers to feel safe when they are using our product and have taken measures to ensure this, including establishing two stable bank partnerships and incorporating banking grade security checks and verification into our product.”
Rain, whose digital platform and custodian services allow people to buy, sell and store digital currency in a secure environment, has operated a limited set of activities since November 2017 as part of the Central Bank of Bahrain’s FinTech sandbox trial, intended to support start-ups in the sector. Rain is in talks with authorities to win a full licence to scale up its operations next year.
FinTech has caught the attention of venture capitalists and other investors across the world, with billions pumped into start-ups and other companies in the sector.
