BitOasis expands in Bahrain after Dubai authorities lift suspension

Cryptocurrency exchange BitOasis has secured a new operational licence in Bahrain just two months after Dubai regulators lifted a suspension on its activities.

The company said it secured a ‘Category 2 Crypto-Asset Services Licence’ from the Central Bank of Bahrain, paving the way for expanding its footprint in the GCC.

The move will enable BitOasis to launch a new broker-dealer platform through its local company in the kingdom, dubbed ‘BitOasis Bahrain’. 

The Bahrain arm of the company will house a small team as it works to launch a new platform in Bahrain during the second half of 2024.

“Launching our platform in Bahrain, which we expect to do in the second half of this year, will bring a range of benefits for our business, including the ability to launch new, innovative products, and capture a greater share of the growing GCC market,” Ola Doudin, CEO and co-founder of BitOasis, told Gulf Business.

“The Central Bank of Bahrain was one of the first regulators in the region – and globally – to release a comprehensive regulatory framework for virtual assets in 2018-2019, and has maintained a forward-looking and flexible regulatory approach since, which enables companies like BitOasis to innovate at pace without compromising consumer protection,” Doudin added.

Lifting of Dubai suspension

The move by BitOasis to expand in Bahrain comes after Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) lifted an earlier suspension of the cryptocurrency exchange’s MVP Operational licence on 12 April 2024.

VARA initially suspended BitOasis’ licence in July 2023 after the company was awarded a conditional MVP Licence on 12 April 2023.

At the time, VARA said the suspension occurred because BitOasis failed to meet the “fulfilment of key conditions over 30-60 day timeframes”.

Since then, BitOasis has become compliant again with VARA, and an updated page on the registry indicates that BitOasis’ licence is active once again.

Doudin told Gulf Business that her company is further hoping to attain a full licence from VARA in the coming months. 

“BitOasis has an active MVP Operational licence with Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, and is in the process of applying for a full Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence with the regulator,” Doudin said.

Recently, global cryptocurrency exchange Binance also upgraded from an MVP licence to a VASP licence, thereby enabling it to cater for institutional and qualified investors, as well as retail cryptocurrency trading.

READ MORE: Binance secures full VASP crypto licence in Dubai

Doudin further said her company is committed to remaining compliant.

“As a regulation-first business, our objective is to be regulated in the markets we operate in and to acquire more licences as they become available across the region. We have seen great regulatory momentum in recent years and look forward to working closely with regulators with emerging and mature frameworks alike,” Doudin said.