BitOasis, one of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms in the Middle East and North Africa, is now allowing its UAE-based cryptocurrency trades and investors to make instant fiat currency bank deposits to their BitOasis accounts.
The new tech-enabled service called Bolt aims to eliminate wait times with bank-to-exchange transfers, allowing traders to make well-timed trading decision, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The new service supports BitOasis’s existing “Easy Funding” deposit option which lets users link their UAE bank account to their BitOasis account and deposit funds through the app at zero cost.
This takes away the hassle of making manual bank transfers to fund crypto buys on BitOasis.
“The crypto space is no stranger to price volatility,” Ola Doudin, chief executive and co-founder of BitOasis, said.
“Given recent price fluctuations, the slightest of delays in deposits on crypto exchanges can impact your trading strategy. Bolt will allow users to move quickly on trading decisions and make an especially big difference for high-value transactions.”
The cryptocurrency market in recent weeks has seen increased volatility, with Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, dropping below $30,000 on May 10, the first time it fell under the key threshold since July 2021.
It has gained some ground and was trading at $31,093.21 at 6.52pm UAE time on Wednesday, data from CoinMarketCap showed.
BitOasis said all its UAE-based verified users now have the Bolt option when transferring funds from their local bank accounts to their AED-wallet on the platform.
The deposit amount per transaction through the new service option is currently capped at Dh25,000 ($6,811). Users can make several deposits with no restrictions on frequency, it added.
“The enabling of instant deposits on BitOasis also demonstrates our tech capability to develop and roll out new features that improve our customers’ experience with trading and investing on the platform,” Ms Doudin said.
Earlier this month, BitOasis and MBC Group, the region's biggest broadcasting company, partnered to launch awareness programmes to drive the adoption of digital assets in the broader Mena region.
The move comes amid a growing interest in crypto investments in the region.
In March, London-based research firm YouGov reported that about two thirds of residents are interested in investing in digital assets within the next five years.
One in five consumers in the UAE said they intend to trade in cryptocurrencies in the next 12 months, the highest globally after Indonesia and India, it added.
A third of UAE residents say they have invested in cryptocurrencies, a higher rate compared to the global average of 30 per cent, a survey by online market research company Toluna showed.
Residents in the UAE plan to allocate 26 per cent of their investable assets to cryptocurrency, compared with 20 per cent globally, it added.
Regulators in the country have also taken various steps to help the industry grow and safeguard investors.
