ATME is live in Manama as a Central Bank of Bahrain–licensed digital assets exchange with a model that lets brokers and asset managers issue and trade tokenized products directly on-platform. In the past week, ATME and Arabian Gulf Capital announced what they call MENA’s first regulated tokenized investment model, with the inaugural fixed-income portfolio reportedly selling out within hours and offering secondary-market access to investors via digitally native tokens. Read the announcement on Zawya and Business Today.

This sits on top of Bahrain’s rulebook. The Crypto-Asset Module defines licensing, custody, cyber, listing, and client-protection obligations for exchanges and service providers. The Stablecoin Issuance and Offering Module adds clarity for fiat-backed coins that can support settlement around tokenized assets. Together, they reduce interpretation risk for builders who need predictable approvals and bank-ready controls.

What “regulated rails” means in practice

ATME’s route is straightforward. Issuers list products that require CBB approval, then trade them on a regulated secondary market with built-in compliance. That creates a venue for tokenized portfolios, credit notes, and commodity-backed instruments that feels familiar to risk teams. The exchange is also working with Shariyah Review Bureau to anchor Islamic-finance use cases in Bahrain. That matters if your product targets sukuk-like cash flows or Sharia-screened portfolios.

The intent from ATME’s product team is plain. “Brokers can issue their own trading strategies as regulated products… without the friction of establishing dedicated funds,” said CPO Maxim Ryabov in Business Today’s coverage. For founders, that line is a roadmap. If you are a broker, asset manager, or a fintech partnering with one, you can ship faster by avoiding bespoke fund structures.

Three tokenized products you can ship in 2026

1) Tokenized commodities, starting with gold. Bahrain already saw a gold-backed token issuance with one-kilogram units for accredited investors, complete with reserve attestations and redemption logic. Use that pattern for other vaulted commodities where custody and audit are well understood.

2) Receivables and short-duration credit. Batch verified invoices or a short-term note program into on-chain units with a clear waterfall, monthly factsheet, and secondary trading. Fit the disclosures to the CBB Crypto-Asset Module and list on ATME so investors have a simple way to enter and exit positions. The inaugural fixed-income portfolio shows how this can work in Bahrain with real demand.

3) Real-estate income streams. Package cash-flowing units with quarterly distributions and transparent fees, then map the disclosures and governance to CBB capital-markets norms captured in the CRA Module PDF. Keep redemption windows and valuation methods simple so price discovery is credible on day one.

Day-one build: roles, docs, custody, and audits

Pick your role first. If you are an issuer, align with a CBB-licensed broker or asset manager that can take products through ATME’s listing process. If you are a distribution partner, clarify onboarding, suitability, and marketing rules early, then point customers to the approved offering page.

Get custody right. Your stack will pair an on-chain registry with off-chain trustees or custodians. Publish vault or reserve attestations on a fixed cadence. Document your KYC, risk disclosures, and secondary-market mechanics in plain language, then agree the cadence for factsheets and notices with ATME before launch. For dollar legs or settlement buffers, mirror expectations in the Stablecoin SIO Module if you rely on fiat-backed coins.

Keep data governance clean. Cross-border processing is workable under Bahrain’s PDPL when routed to adequate jurisdictions or covered by permits. Use the adequate-countries order and put your consent text and access logs in the first two pages of your deck..

Risks to plan for early

Valuation and price discovery. Publish your methodology, update it on schedule, and back it with independent checks. Avoid opaque inputs.
Liquidity. Seed inventory for market making and disclose the bands you will maintain to keep spreads sensible. Coverage on Business Today and ABC points to quick take-up, but you still need depth beyond launch day.
Settlement and reserves. If you use fiat-backed tokens to grease payouts, align governance and attestations to the Stablecoin SIO Module so finance teams are comfortable.
Data and disclosure. Keep PDPL notices and cross-border routing tight via the adequate-countries list. Add a short incident-communications plan and a clear reversal or redemption ladder.

Founder checklist

• Pick the asset, choose the issuer route with a CBB-licensed partner, and draft offering docs mapped to the CRA Module.

• Pre-agree listing timeline and secondary-market parameters with ATME, then line up auditors and attestation providers.

• Set valuation and liquidity policies in writing, including market-making inventory bands.

• Finalise custody and redemption flows, plus a monthly factsheet template.

• Document PDPL consent and cross-border routing using the adequate-countries order.

• Book a Sharia review if relevant via Shariyah Review Bureau.

Next step: send a two-page brief to ATME that names your asset, valuation method, custody plan, and factsheet cadence, then attach the CRA Module and Stablecoin SIO links so your sponsor can move your product toward a CBB-approved listing this quarter.