Middle Eastern crypto exchange Rain raises $110 million led by Kleiner Perkins and Paradigm

Bahrain-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Rain has raised $110 million in a Series B round co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Paradigm (the largest crypto fund in the world founded by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang). It is the first Middle East investment for both firms. The round is one of the largest investment deals for any startup in the Middle East & North Africa. It also includes the participation of Coinbase Ventures, Global Founders Capital, MEVP, Cadenza Ventures, JIMCO, and CMT Digital. Rain had previously raised $6 million in a Series A led by MEVP in January last year. Its previous investors also include Coinbase, JIMCO, and Saudi’s Vision Ventures.

Founded in 2017 by Abdullah Almoaiqel, AJ Nelson, Joseph Dallago, and Yehia Badawy, Rain runs a crypto exchange in different Middle Eastern markets (including Bahrain, Saudi, Oman, Kuwait, and UAE), enabling users there to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Tether, and a few others. The startup claims to have 185,000 users who and processed over $1.9 billion worth of transactions to date. It currently employs a team of 400 people and plans to double the size in 2022.

Casey Caruso, investing partner at Paradigm said, “We believe Rain is a crucial piece of the puzzle for bringing the Middle East deeper into the new crypto economy. Their emphasis on supporting and educating those new to crypto alongside strong banking and regulatory relationships has helped them build a service people trust. This is just the beginning for Rain, and we’re honored to support their growth.”

Source Credit: menabytes