Paribu Acquires CoinMENA for Up to $240M, Securing VARA and CBB Licences for MENA Expansion

Turkish crypto exchange Paribu has acquired a majority stake in CoinMENA in a deal valued up to $240 million, marking Turkey’s largest fintech transaction and Paribu’s first cross-border digital-asset acquisition. CoinMENA is Sharia-compliant and holds licences from Dubai’s VARA and the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). The purchase gives Paribu regulated access to VARA and CBB licences, a user base of roughly 1.5 million across 45 countries, support for more than 50 cryptocurrencies, and multi-currency MENA payment rails. CoinMENA, founded in 2020, raised about $20 million from investors including BECO, Arab Bank Switzerland and Circle. Paribu has recently expanded regulated services (including Paribu Custody) and received domestic approvals to set up a brokerage, and says the acquisition will accelerate compliance-driven regional expansion, increase cross-border liquidity, broaden trading services, and speed product development across Türkiye and MENA. Paribu CEO Yasin Oral called the deal a turning point for Türkiye and MENA fintech. Key trading implications: access to regulated MENA order flow may lift regional volumes and liquidity; integration risk and execution timelines could create short-term uncertainty; long-term outcome likely increases Paribu’s market reach and service depth.