“Can a dual-licensed (Bahrain CBB + Dubai VARA) crypto exchange become the dominant regulated on-ramp for retail and institutional digital asset trading across the MENA region and beyond?”
Founded in 2019 in Bahrain, CoinMENA positioned itself as the leading regulated crypto exchange for the MENA region, obtaining CBB Category-3 licensing early on. The company expanded into the UAE under a VARA VASP license, establishing two distinct regulated entities (CoinMENA B.S.C.(C) in Bahrain and CoinMENA FZE in the UAE). With $12.5M raised over two funding rounds and over 1.5 million registered users, the company was acquired by Turkish exchange Paribu in a $240M deal, signaling consolidation in the MENA/Turkey crypto corridor.
CoinMENA is founded in 2019 and headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.
CoinMENA has raised $12.5M in total (latest round: M&A (acquired by Paribu, $240M deal)).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against CoinMENA and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.