Indian Cryptocurrency exchange platform CoinDCX is now evaluated at $2.1 Billion, after the Mumbai based startup secured series D funding of $135 Million. Along with existing backer Pantera Capital, CoinDCX roped in Steadview Capital as a leading new investor.
While Steadview and Pantera accounted for around 50% of the fresh capital infused, the round also saw participation from other investors including B capital, Kingsway Capital, DraperDragon, Republic, and Kindred Ventures. The company’s existing US-Based investor CoinBase, who recently launched their own exchange platform in India, were also seen increasing their stake.
With the freshly acquired funding, the company plans to bring in another 600 employees to its current employee base of 400.
Sumit Gupta, Co-founder and CEO, said “What is interesting about this round is the quality of investors who’re coming in and the kind of strong confidence they have shown on the market.” Founded in 2018 by Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, CoinDCX raised its valuation to $1B in July 2021, making it a member of the highly exclusive club of unicorn startups of India.
Meanwhile, most cryptocurrency exchange apps have been facing a massive drop in user base, as, what experts assume, a direct consequence of the new Taxation law on cryptocurrency transactions in india. The industry has continually been lobbying with the Indian Government for reduction of the 1% TDS (applied on transactions exceeding ₹10,000) to 0.01%.
Lack of convenient options to make payments on cryptocurrency exchange apps has also been a major hurdle for the industry. While CoinBase, the US based crypto giant, did make an attempt to incorporate UPI transactions on their platform, the plans seem to have fallen through
Sumit Gupta, CEO of CoinDCX, remains optimistic regarding crypto’s adoption by both the government and the people of India. “High-quality investors don’t think of volume to judge how fast the business is growing, they take a bet on who is building the industry in the right direction,” he said. “Even though the volumes are at lower levels than in the past, in the long term, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is how we are making crypto mainstream,” he said in a statement.
Despite the drop in user volume, CoinDCX has an impressive user base of 12 million.
