UAE crypto exchange BitOasis raises $ 30 million to expand in MENA region

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Dubai-based cryptocurrency trading platform BitOasis is expanding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with another major funding round.

BitOasis has closed a $ 30 million Series B funding round led by Chicago-based venture capital firm Jump Capital and Dubai-based venture capital firm Wamda Capital, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

Wamda had already invested in BitOasis in 2016, leading an undisclosed seed funding round. The latest round included new investors, such as crypto trading firm Sam Bankman-Frieds Alameda Research and Global Founders Capital, as well as existing investors, including Pantera Capital, Digital Currency Group and Belgian investment firm NXMH.

The new funding will help the crypto exchange grow its presence in the MENA region and ensure regulatory compliance, said BitOasis co-founder and CEO Ola Doudin.

We see a lot of potential for crypto adoption in the MENA region. We also believe that good regulation, coupled with investor awareness and education initiatives, will drive the massive adoption of crypto assets in the region, Doudin told Cointelegraph, adding:

The upcoming funding will provide us with the resources we need to build the largest and most trusted cryptocurrency platform in the region. Expansion beyond the MENA region is also being considered and will occur in due course.

Related: UAE Regulators Approve Crypto Trading In Dubai Free Zone

BitOasis also aims to forge strategic partnerships with the public sector to raise awareness of crypto security, Doudin said. The exchange recently partnered with Dubai Police to educate the public on fraudulent schemes related to crypto investing and trading.

Launched in 2015, BitOasis is one of the oldest crypto exchanges in the MENA region. BitOasis has experienced accelerated growth this year, with transaction volumes exceeding $ 3 billion in the first half of 2021 as well as a 200% increase in the number of users. In May, BitOasis received regulatory approvals from the Abu Dhabi Global Market as the company prepared to launch a licensed crypto exchange in the Middle East.

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