Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Paribu has secured a majority interest in CoinMENA, which is a Sharia-compliant crypto exchange licensed in both Dubai and Bahrain.
As per a Thursday announcement from CoinMENA, Paribu has acquired a controlling stake in CoinMENA, a deal that values the company at approximately $240 million. This transaction is touted as Türkiye’s largest fintech deal to date and marks the country’s first cross-border acquisition of a digital asset platform.
Paribu aims to leverage this acquisition to expand its operations beyond its domestic market. CoinMENA received a license from Bahrain’s central bank in early 2021 and has since secured another license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority at the end of 2023.
“With this acquisition, we have broadened our licensed operations to a larger geography, becoming a regulated entity in one of the world’s most crypto-friendly markets,” stated Paribu founder and CEO Yasin Oral.
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Crypto in the MENA region
Oral expressed optimism that the deal would have significant implications “for the digital asset and broader finance ecosystem in Türkiye and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region:
“We are opening a new chapter in Paribu’s growth journey, extending our presence into the MENA region and contributing to the ongoing consolidation of the global digital asset industry.”
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The announcement comes on the heels of multiple developments in the MENA region in recent months. In late November, Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin was authorized for use by institutions in Abu Dhabi after being recognized as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token by the local regulator.
In addition, a new decree from the United Arab Emirates’ central bank in November was reported to integrate decentralized finance and the broader Web3 industry into regulatory frameworks. Earlier in October, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit obtained a Virtual Asset Platform Operator License from the Securities and Commodities Authority of the United Arab Emirates.
Furthermore, a Chainalysis report in October acknowledged Turkey as the leading crypto market in the MENA region this year, though it also indicated that the rise in crypto volumes has largely been driven by speculative activities rather than sustainable adoption.
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