BitOasis, the Dubai-based digital asset exchange and wallet has raised an undisclosed amount of investment from KBBO Ventures, Wamda Capital, Jabbar Internet Group, Pantera Capital, a California-based focused on Bitcoin and other digital currencies, and some other investors.
Founded by Ola Doudin in 2015, BitOasis is one of the leading digital asset exchanges in MENA that allows users to buy and sell digital currencies including Bitcoin & Ethereum in UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Bahrain & Oman. They’re also expected to add Ripple to their platform very soon.
The news about investment was shared in a blog post by BitOasis that did not mention any details but said that it’s a ‘large’ equity round and listed down names of investors. It would be safe to assume that they’re talking about a seven-digit figure here. They will be sharing details about the investment in a formal announcement soon.
“As one of the largest and fastest growing companies in the blockchain space in the UAE, we’re committed to providing the best and most secure trading platform in the region for our customers. We strive every day to improve our services in order to meet the growing demand of our customers,” said the blog post. “Hence, we have recently secured a large equity financing round from reputable investors such as KBBO Ventures, Wamda Capital, Pantera Capital, Jabbar Group, among others, that we will be announcing soon. These funds will go towards ensuring a secure and seamless user experience on our platform and ensuring that we maintain healthy relations with all banks and regulators in the region.”
The blog post was BitOasis’ response to an article published in a local newspaper suggesting that the company no longer accepts deposits and withdrawals from customers registered with Emirates NBD, Noor Bank and Mashreq. BitOasis has clarified that “Emirates NBD’s recent policy decision to halt transfers for customers dealing with blockchain-based trading platforms applies not only to BitOasis but to similar companies in the blockchain space both locally and internationally” and that they don’t have any issues with “accepting or sending customer transfers to Noor Bank or any other UAE or GCC based banks as the article suggests.”
BitOasis is one of the most popular (if not THE most popular) platform for buying and selling Bitcoins in UAE & Saudi but the users have been complaining a lot about it lately on Twitter and some other forums especially about the delays in verifications and withdrawals. The company also said that it has been working to double its capacity so it continues to function smoothly for its existing customers and be in a position to welcome thousands of new users.
With all the craze around cryptocurrencies these days, BitOasis is definitely one of the startups to watch in 2018.
Featured image via Wamda.
We’ll update the story with the details of investment as soon as we learn about them.
