CoinMENA, the Shariah-compliant crypto exchange of  Bahrain, has won a license from Central Bank of the country. The exchange will launch its operations in the coming months.

The middle eastern crypto exchange announced the news on Sunday. The exchange said that it has met both technical and security requirements set by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

CoinMENA is a certified shariah-compliant crypto exchange under Shariya Review Bureau. It has become one of the few fully functional exchanges in both the Middle East and North African region.

In the press release issued by the exchange on January 24th, the plan of offerings was delineated:

Looking to serve both retail and institutional investors, CoinMENA will offer, upon launch, five major cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). It will also provide an “OTC Desk ” offering, for sizable transactions, along with a dedicated relationship manager who will see every trade through to execution.

These services will cater to the people of the Kingdom of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.

Shariah plays a key role in the governance of financial matters within the Muslim world. Majority of Muslim countries view bitcoin and cryptocurrency as ‘haram’ (prohibited) due to the illegitimate use of the asset. However, the licence issuance to CoinMENA depicts the expansion of the crypto industry into the Muslim world.

Crypto Adoption on the Rise:

Crypto has long been seen as a threat to central authorities. The open nature of blockchain makes it a bad fit for regulations. Nevertheless, the fintech industry has promising potential. Thus governments in both liberal and conservative countries are trying to mainstream the blockchain industry. For instance, the federal institute of the United States recently gave a statement of allowing banks to use blockchain.

Governmental steps to incorporate crypto in financial markets will soon lead to widespread crypto adoption.