Middle Eastern crypto exchange Rain, backed by Coinbase, has secured a licence to operate a virtual assets brokerage and custody service in the United Arab Emirates through its entity based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market financial freezone. Institutional and retail clients in the UAE will be able to buy, sell and store virtual assets using their local payment network. Rain, which raised $110m last year in a funding round that valued it at $500m, said it would use the money for regional expansion.