A digital asset trading platform is set to launch in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) thanks to a recently announced partnership between custodian provider Rain management WLL, and Bahrain based crypto exchange Bittrex.
According to a press release, the new platform will combine custodian provider Rain’s staff and expertise in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), with Bittrex’s technology and security infrastructure. The platform will also offer all the tokens that are currently available on Bittrex and on Bittrex international. It will also offer four Bitcoin (BTC) trading pairs with local fiat currencies: the Bahraini dinar, the Kuwaiti dinar, the United Arab Emirates dirham and the Saudi riyal.
According to the announcement, this new digital asset platform set to be launched by Bittrex and Rain management WLL, will be the first to be fully licensed in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). Rain is said to have taken part in the Bahrain’s central bank’s regulatory sand box which was launched in February 2019.
As a result of its contributions towards Bahrain’s regulatory sand box, the firm operates under the Crypto- Asset legal framework established by the Central bank of Bahrain (CBB). Earlier today, Rain announced that it had become the first crypto exchange in the Middle East to receive a regulatory license in the form of a Crypto- Asset Module license from the CBB.
According to the top brass at Rain, their goal is to bring international standards for crypto exchanges to the Middle East. Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara on the other hand believes that the partnership will help drive Blockchain awareness and adoption. At press time, Bittrex’s 24-hour reported trade volume is $31.9 million, up 35.55% on the day, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
This development taking place in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, had its way paved by an earlier memorandum signed by the Dubai chamber of commerce and industry (DCCI), the international chamber of commerce, and Blockchain startup Perlin. The signed memorandum of understanding reportedly grants the DCCI exclusive rights to offer certain Blockchain solutions in the MENA region that were developed by the center of future trade. The solutions provided by the memorandum were reportedly designed to boost supply chain transparency in the region and also reduce trading risks.
The launch of trading platforms in the MENA region; which a lot of people in the West may not see as a crypto viable region is big news. This is because this partnership just like Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara said, will expose thousands maybe millions of people to cryptocurrencies. This will potentially lead to an increased demand for BTC which can only be good for the virtual asset’s price.
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