BitWadi, a Saudi Arabian based ventures that allows individuals to invest in Bitcoin for the long term, without having to deal with exchanges, has opened its waitlist as it seeks its license in the country.

In an interview in AGBI, Abdullah Al Moaiqel the previous co-founder of Bahraini crypto exchange Rain and is now building a cryptocurrency-based savings venture in Saudi Arabia. Al Moaiqel noted that his new company aims to help individuals invest in bitcoin for the long term without the distractions of exchanges.

The tagline on BitWadi website, states, clear fees, secure storage, and local support. The platform offers fully isolated wallets, address whitelisting, and continuous 24/7 monitoring, transparent pricing, and built for the GCC region.

According to Al Moaiqel in the interview with AGBI, he states, “Bitwadi is built on transparency and security, where our success is directly tied to our users’ success, creating true alignment of interests. We are driven by our vision to be the leading local platform for the future of digital currencies in the region and beyond.”

“In my view, bitcoin is a savings technology,” he said. “One of the main reasons people aren’t incentivised to save is inflation. You’re more likely to save and think long-term if you save in a harder asset like bitcoin. People are open to new investment opportunities, while having it within an Islamic framework.”

Bitwadi’s default approach is “set and forget”, Al Moaiqel said, highlighting that his goal is to facilitate long-term savings, not short-term profits.

Over 2,300 people have signed up for the waitlist so far.

In the recent Chainalysis MENA 2025 Crypto report, Saudi Arabia came in 5th place in terms of crypto value received between mid 2024 and mid 2025. Saudi Arabia received crypto values close to $48 billion according to Chainalysis.

In its 2024 MENA report, while the biggest two countries receiving crypto value were Turkey and Morocco, the fastest growing crypto countries were Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Saudi Arabia remained the fastest-growing crypto economy in the MENA region, growing by 154% year-over-year.

This week, Saudi Minister of Municipality and Housing talked about the growing role and importance of crypto and stablecoins. He noted that several entities were seeking stablecoin payment infrastructure licenses in KSA.