BitMEX Ventures invests in Bahrain-based licensed crypto exchange Rain

BitMEX Ventures, the investment arm of cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform BitMEX, has invested in Bahrain-based licensed cryptocurrency exchange Rain, which went live today.

Rain has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by BitMEX Ventures and Kuwait-based cryptocurrency fund, Blockwater. Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song and Mike Komarnsky, founder of Cumberland Mining, also participated in the round, among others. With the seed investment, the exchange plans to grow its team and invest in new technology.

The Central Bank of Bahrain has issued the Crypto-Asset Module license to Rain, which claims to be the first firm in the Middle East to receive the license. Rain recently graduated from the central bank’s regulatory sandbox program, having worked within it for the past two years.

BitMEX co-founder and CEO, Arthur Hayes, said: “We believe that Rain will bring greater diversification to Middle-Eastern traders with its exchange offering.”