Online payment service provider PayFort is among a number of participants to invest in a seed funding round for Dubai-based bitcoin startup BitOasis.

Additional participants included MENA-focused venture capital firm Wamda Capital, early Internet entrepreneur Samih Toukan, serial industry investor Digital Currency Group and a group of unnamed angel investors. The total amount raised was not disclosed.

With the announcement, BitOasis becomes the first bitcoin startup in the region to announce venture funding, which positions the firm at the forefront of a very nascent sector of the global bitcoin and blockchain industry.

CEO Ola Doudin said that the funding would be used to expand BitOasis and its bitcoin payments and exchange services to new markets throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Doudin said in statements:

“We see great potential in enabling future payment applications, specifically peer-to-peer payments and remittances, that we’re developing our API integrations and developer platform to support.”

Doudin said the startup would also seek to strengthen its presence in Dubai, an area that has emerged as the regional leader in bitcoin and blockchain technology.

The funding comes on the heels of the March launch of the Global Blockchain Council (GBC), a 32-member consortium of regional startups, local government entities and the area divisions of international IT giants including Cisco, Microsoft and SAP.

Doudin is also scheduled to appear with partners from this group at Keynote 2016 next week. To be held on 30th May, the Dubai-based conference will see a notable selection of Global Blockchain Council members discuss topics related to the blockchain ecosystem and its potential in the region.

BitOasis image via Facebook

Disclaimer: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in BitOasis.