How to Buy Bitcoin in The United Arab Emirates
We found 6 trusted online cryptocurrency exchanges operating in The United Arab Emirates including Rain, Binance, and ByBit.
Rain is the most popular Bitcoin exchange in The United Arab Emirates with 10,000 users
Binance allows buying and selling Bitcoin with 4 forms of payment
ByBit accepts users and payments from 21 countries
Ease of Use
Easy
Fees
Average
Verification
1-2 Days
Reputation
Trusted
Rain is the first cryptocurrency exchange to earn a regulatory license in the Middle East and joins an elite group of exchanges internationally.
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Rain is the first cryptocurrency exchange to earn a regulatory license in the Middle East and joins an elite group of exchanges internationally. Rain’s platform allows customers to buy, sell, and store crypto in a secure environment on its website and mobile apps. The company founded in 2017, launched publicly in 2019 with their license from the Central Bank of Bahrain and is now serving customers. Since then, they have exceeded 10,000 customers and are growing quickly.
The majority of cryptocurrency funds held by Rain are stored offline in a proprietary Cold Storage system. Rain uses bank-grade security, encryption, and meets all CCSS requirements. Rain is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as a Crypto-Asset Brokerage and is subject to rigorous cybersecurity, capital reserve, and banking compliance standards.
Ease of Use
Medium
Fees
Low
Verification
1 Day
Reputation
Trusted
Within 8 months of launching in July 2017, Binance quickly skyrocketed into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, processing more than $1 billion on a daily basis.
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Within 8 months of launching in July 2017, Binance quickly skyrocketed into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, processing more than $1 billion on a daily basis. It’s rise to popularity can be attributed to the impressive number of cryptocurrencies they offer, professional attitude, friendly and transparent CEO, and low trading fees.
Binance is considered a safe cryptocurrency exchange. Binance provides 2-factor authentication and offers both multi signature wallets and cold storage options.
Ease of Use
Easy
Fees
Low
Verification
1 Day
Reputation
Trusted
ByBit sits amongst Binance as one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges known for its vast selection of cryptocurrencies and professional trading features.
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ByBit sits amongst Binance as one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges known for its vast selection of cryptocurrencies and professional trading features. With its user-friendly interface, low fees, and liquidity, ByBit stands out as an ideal choice for both novice and experienced traders seeking a reliable and feature-rich platform.
ByBit user funds are stored securely offline in cold wallets and routinely provides Proof of Reserves audits and publishes them to the public.
After buying bitcoin from an exchange, it's important to withdraw to your own non-custodial wallet for security, privacy, and to have full control over your bitcoin.
Zengo is an easy iOS & Android crypto and NFT wallet. Buy, sell, and self-custody directly from the app.
Ledger Nano S Plus is a secure hardware wallet that connects to your computer via USB-C
BlueWallet is a popular desktop Bitcoin wallet which is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux
Ease of Use
Easy
Fees
Low
Verification
1 Day
Reputation
Trusted
OKX is a leading cryptocurrency exchange known for its vast selection of cryptocurrencies.
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OKX is a leading cryptocurrency exchange known for its vast selection of cryptocurrencies. With its user-friendly interface, low fees, and deep liquidity, OKX stands out as an ideal choice for both novice and experienced traders seeking a reliable and feature-rich platform.
OKX has created an asset risk reserve fund committed to continually allocating a percentage of our earnings to guarantee and protect assets from crypto security risks
Ease of Use
Medium
Fees
Average
Verification
1-2 Days
Reputation
Trusted
BitOasis is the Middle East & North Africa’s (MENA) largest digital asset trading exchange, platform, and wallet service.
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BitOasis is the Middle East & North Africa’s (MENA) largest digital asset trading exchange, platform, and wallet service. The BitOasis platform allows you to buy, sell and trade your digital assets easily and securely. Sadly, BitOasis is not transparent with their withdrawal fees, deposit fees, and BTC/fiat conversion rate.
BitOasis claims customer funds are kept in multi-signature wallets.
Ease of Use
Easy
Fees
Average
Verification
2-3 Days
Reputation
Trusted
With millions of active users, an international market, and strategic investors on board, Kraken, joins Coinbase and Binance to become the big three cryptocurrency exchanges in the global market.
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With millions of active users, an international market, and strategic investors on board, Kraken, joins Coinbase and Binance to become the big three cryptocurrency exchanges in the global market. Kraken provides cryptocurrency to fiat trading and provides price information to Bloomberg Terminal. In February 2019, Kraken announced that it had raised $100 million in a direct offering to its largest customers at a $4 billion valuation.
Kraken is considered one of the safest bitcoin exchanges around. The platform provides cryptography-verified proof of reserve audits. These audits verify the total amount of cryptocurrency held by Kraken. The company appears to be well-capitalized and very safe to use.
Buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in The United Arab Emirates is a simple process and usually takes less than 10 minutes to get fully setup.
The first step is to register with a platform, app or exchange and complete a Know Your Customer (KYC) process.
The exchange you choose will be interoperable with most devices, desktop and mobile, and will allow you to withdraw to your own personal hardware wallet.
There are also several options available for buying and selling without verification on P2P exchanges, although they are much less user-friendly and are recommended for more advanced users.
Before purchasing, there are a couple of important things you'll need to prepare:
1. Create an account with an exchange
The United Arab Emirates has 6 trusted exchanges available for you to sign up for, with the most popular being Rain and Binance, which account for a combined 215,010,000 active users.
Both exchanges are considered to be beginner-friendly and offer multiple deposit methods and a variety of cryptocurrencies.
Exchanges will differ by fees, security, payment methods, and other features, so explore the "info" tab on the exchanges listed above to find which one is the right fit for you.
The platform you end up choosing will depend on your preferences and the cryptocurrencies and payment methods they support.
Also it's important to note that you can always sign up to other exchanges later.
2. Complete the KYC verification process
After signing up to an exchange you will need to verify your identity and address, which is part of the Know Your Customer (KYC) process. This is an unavoidable legal requirement for almost all exchanges in The United Arab Emirates.
To complete this step you will need your photo ID readily available to take pictures of both the front and back sides of the document.
In most cases your verification will be approved instantly and at most can take 1-2 days.
3. Make a fiat deposit
To begin buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies you will need to link a bank account or credit card to the exchange.
Some of the payment methods provided by Rain and Binance are: SWIFT, FAWRI, FAWRI+, Debit Card, Credit Card, MADA, KNET, BENEFIT.
Depending on the payment method, it could take anywhere from a couple of minutes to days for the funds to arrive at the exchange.
4. Buy cryptocurrency
Once your account has been funded, you are ready to buy your first bitcoin. It's important to note that you do not need to buy a full bitcoin.
Most exchanges will let you buy as little as a few dollars worth of bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency.
5. Send your bitcoin to a personal wallet
Once you've purchased bitcoin or your cryptocurrency of choice it's important to withdraw it to your own secure personal wallet.
Leaving your coins on an exchange poses a security risk as many exchanges are targets for hackers to steal user funds. Storing your own coins on your personal hardware wallet mitigates that risk.
The United Arab Emirates
The Central Bank of the UAE does not recognize cryptocurrencies as a legal tender, however, they are legal to trade and transact as there is no prohibition against crypto assets in the UAE.
New laws in 2020 require persons engaging in crypto-related activities such as offering, issuing, promoting, listing and trading of cryptocurrencies, to be licensed by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA)
🌎 View bitcoin and cryptocurrency legality around the world
There are 6 trusted exchanges operating in The United Arab Emirates with the most popular being Rain , Binance , and ByBit.
You can review each of these exchanges and find best exchange that works for you. Bitrawr ranks exchanges in The United Arab Emirates based on fees, users, and security while giving placement preference to exchanges located in The United Arab Emirates or specifically catering to users in The United Arab Emirates.
Most of the exchanges operating in The United Arab Emirates have debit/credit card payment options available. Remember that this requires completing KYC.
No! For complete custody of your Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies it is recommended to store them in a hardware wallet as it keeps private keys safe and entirely offline.
Bitcoin ATMs are an excellent way to buy bitcoin using cash and offer little to no requirements for KYC. ATMs are commonly located inside of convenience stores, shops, restaurants, malls or airports. Find one near you using our ATM map.
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