Digital asset exchange Coinmena receives provisional licence from Dubai’s VARA

Coinmena, a Sharia-compliant digital asset exchange company licenced and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), has received a provisional virtual assets licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). This allows it to continue operating in Dubai while it completes the in-depth process of applying for a licence, as required by VARA.

Helal Saeed Almarri, director–general of the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, that houses VARA said, “We are pleased to welcome Coinmena to the growing virtual asset ecosystem in Dubai. VARA is committed to supporting leading regional enterprises dedicated to building strong foundations for this future economy. We appreciate the knowledge and experience that Coinmena brings as a platform focused on the MENA region and look forward to their active participation as VARA builds a best-in-class virtual assets regulatory environment in the UAE, for the world.”

We’re pleased to announce that CoinMENA has obtained a provisional license from Dubai’s VARA, making it the third license we would obtain after securing two digital assets licenses in just over a year since our launch.
? https://t.co/7HeWOKT6WW#Cryptocurrency #Regulation #Dubai pic.twitter.com/lXX0Dk9Lrz

— CoinMENA | كوين مينا (@CoinMENA) June 16, 2022

Meanwhile, Coinmena has secured two digital assets licences within its first year of operations, first from CBB and the second in the European Union. The provisional licence from VARA would be the third and will enable the company to offer its products and services to institutional investors.

Commenting in a joint statement, the company’s co-founders Talal Tabbaa and Dina Sam’an said: “VARA has developed a progressive framework within which businesses can work innovatively and securely. As a result of the provisional license issued to Coinmena by the authority, we will be able to expand our activities and further strengthen our banking relationships within the UAE.”

“We are excited about what this means for the region and Coinmena. Thanks to the regulatory clarity provided by VARA, all of the leading crypto companies in the world are either already in Dubai or are planning to move there.” Tabbaa said, “We look forward to working with VARA to build a progressive ecosystem that enables users to have safe exposure to the emerging digital assets class.”

Coinmena recently became the first onshore licenced crypto exchange to introduce limit trading. Other highlights include the introduction of USDT withdrawals via the TRON TRC20 network and the addition of eight new digital assets taking the platform’s total to 21.

The company will continue to add more user-centric features to its platform during the coming weeks and months.