Rain Financial Inc., which operates a crypto-asset platform used mainly in the Middle East and North Africa, raised $6 million, securing backing from Coinbase Inc., the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S.
The Series A funding round was led by venture-capital firm Middle East Venture Partners, Rain Financial said in a statement. Rain Financial declined to disclose its valuation.
Other investors include:
• Saudi Arabian private-equity investor Vision Ventures
• Jameel Investment Management Co.
• Chicago-based CMT Digital Venture, LLC
• Dubai-based DIFC Fintech Fund
The four-year-old startup’s Rain Management business was the first licensed crypto-asset platform in the Middle East when it secured approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to operate in 2019, according to the statement.
Crypto-platforms have been given a boost by a quadrupling in the price of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, in late 2020, which has been accompanied by roller-coaster volatility.
Last year saw “tremendous growth in the number of users and the transaction volume on Rain,” co-founder Yehia Badawy said in an interview. “We’ve seen increased adoption across the board from retail clients, high-net-worth individuals, and institutional clients.”
Rain Financial plans to use the funds for a regional expansion and to grow its engineering team, Badawy said. It’s also in talks with regulators in the Middle East to widen its reach, he said.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.