Rain

Rain is a Middle Eastern cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, operating through holding company Rain Financial Inc., which oversees Rain Management W.L.L. in Bahrain. The platform is regulated and licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and lets retail users buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple. Wikipedia describes the business as operating in the Middle East and Turkey.

The founders' stated aim was a Shari'a-compliant exchange serving traders in the Middle East and North Africa. Onboarding requires phone and email verification followed by identity verification with two identity documents and a selfie, typically reviewed within 24 hours. Users can fund accounts by bank transfer (using IBAN, or account number and SWIFT code) or by linking an American Express, MasterCard or VISA credit or debit card; crypto can be withdrawn to external wallets with a choice of faster higher-fee or slower lower-fee settlement.

Security practices reported for the platform include storing 98% of cryptocurrency in cold storage, CCSS Level III compliance with in-house and third-party audits, quarterly financial audits of fiat bank accounts, and KYC collection required under CBB regulation. Reviewers noted a limited number of supported cryptocurrencies and comparatively high fees as drawbacks.

Founding story

Rain was founded by four entrepreneurs — Abdullah Almoaiqel, Yehia Badawy, Joseph Dallago and AJ (Adam Jon) Nelson — with the goal of establishing a regulated, Shari'a-compliant cryptocurrency platform serving traders in the Middle East and North Africa. Joseph Dallago is listed as CEO. Sources give the founding year as either 2016 or 2017.

Business model

Rain operates a regulated centralized cryptocurrency exchange and brokerage, generating revenue primarily from trading fees and withdrawal fees. As of 2021 it charged approximately 1.5% on trades funded by bank transfer and 4% on trades funded by debit or credit card, plus flat fiat withdrawal fees that varied by currency (no fee for Bahraini dinar, USD 15, AED 50, KWD 5, SAR 50, OMR 5). In April 2022 the company introduced a zero percent trading fee structure for the MENA region. Following its 2023 ADGM approval, it also targeted UAE asset managers with virtual asset brokerage and custody services.

Transaction-based: percentage trading fees on purchases and sales (approximately 1.5% via bank transfer and 4% via card as of 2021, later changed to 0% trading fees announced in April 2022) plus flat fiat withdrawal fees by currency.

Traction

Rain supported local currency deposits across five Middle Eastern markets and was regulated in Bahrain and, from 2023, approved by ADGM's FSRA in the UAE. Reported cumulative funding includes a $2.5 million seed, a $6 million Series A (2021) and a $110 million Series B (January 2022); the company was ranked #6 on Forbes' 2022 list of the 50 most-funded startups. No user, volume or revenue figures are available in the sources.

Latest developments

In 2023 Rain Trading Limited obtained approval from ADGM's Financial Services Regulatory Authority to expand in the UAE and serve asset managers with virtual asset brokerage and custody. In April 2024 Rain suffered a security breach resulting in the theft of $16 million in cryptocurrency; the U.S. Department of Justice attributed the intrusion to North Korea's Lazarus Group, which used a fake LinkedIn job offer to induce an employee to install malware and obtain private keys. Some stolen funds were traced and partially recovered.