Turkey’s Paribu to buy CoinMENA in deal worth up to $240 million, adding Dubai and Bahrain licenses

Paribu has acquired CoinMENA, the largest local crypto exchange in the Middle East and North Africa, in a deal valued at up to $240 million as the Turkish company seeks to expand its cross-border presence.

The move gives Paribu — already one of Turkey’s leading crypto and fintech players — immediate, licensed access to two of the region’s most active regulatory regimes, the companies announced in a statement on Thursday.

Through CoinMENA, Paribu inherits a broker-dealer virtual asset service provider license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and a crypto asset service provider license from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

In a market where licensing footprints have become strategic assets, Paribu said the acquisition positions it among the few regulated, multi-jurisdictional operators in the MENA region and supports its broader push toward compliance-led expansion.

"This transaction is a turning point not only for Paribu but also for the digital asset and broader finance ecosystem in Turkey and the MENA region," Paribu founder and CEO Yasin Oral said in the announcement. CoinMENA, he added, is "an ideal partner for our regional expansion."

CoinMENA’s founders, Talal Tabbaa and Dina Sam’an, framed the acquisition as the most significant milestone in the company’s history.

"By combining CoinMENA’s regional expertise with Paribu’s technology, we are poised to develop a comprehensive suite of digital asset products across Turkey and the MENA region," the co-founders said in a joint statement.

Founded in 2020, CoinMENA says it operates across 45 countries and serves more than 1.5 million users. It offers access to over 50 cryptocurrencies and has raised nearly $20 million from investors, including BECO, Arab Bank Switzerland, Circle, and Bunat Ventures. Its dual licenses in Bahrain and Dubai have made it one of the region’s prominent regulated exchanges.

Paribu, launched in 2017, has been building toward a multi-market strategy over the past two years. In 2024, it introduced Paribu Custody, described as Turkey’s first domestic digital asset custody provider using the firm’s ColdShield security infrastructure. This past October, Turkey’s Capital Markets Board authorized Paribu to establish a brokerage firm, marking its entry into the country’s capital markets ecosystem.

The CoinMENA acquisition folds neatly into that roadmap, as Paribu gains regional scale and regulatory reach, while CoinMENA gains deeper technology and infrastructure backing.