Indian crypto exchange becomes unicorn after $90M funding round

Mumbai-based crypto exchange CoinDCX has raised $90 million in a Series C funding round, becoming the first crypto business in India to reach unicorn status. 

According to an announcement, the funding round was led by B Capital Group and saw participation from returning investors including Block.one, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain and Jump Capital.

Following the investment round, CoinDCX reached a valuation of $1.1 billion, placing the company among crypto giants such as Binance and Ripple. CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta said the firm will use the new funds on business initiatives, adding:

“We will be joining hands or enter into partnerships with key fintech players to expand the crypto investor base, set up a Research & Development (R&D) facility, strengthening the policy conversations through public discourse, working with the government to introduce favorable regulations, education, and amping up the hiring initiatives.”

Since 2018, the crypto exchange has managed to onboard more than 3.5 million users, while the company intends to use the latest round of funding in fast-tracking its onboarding process to up to 50 million users across the country.

Governments across the globe have started experimenting with crypto and blockchain implementations at different levels.

The Indian government has remained unclear about its stance on crypto, and CoinDCX’s move onto the unicorn list has not yet come under the radar of the regulators.

Related: Indian startup organization proposes regulatory framework for crypto

While India’s noncommittal stance keeps local crypto businesses wary, an independent technology association, IndiaTech.org, has recommended a regulatory framework for handling crypto assets and exchanges.

The proposal recommended Indian authorities “define cryptocurrencies as digital assets and not currencies and grant them recognition as digital assets like gold, stocks, or marketable securities.” CoinDCX’s Gupta also showed support for IndiaTech, stating:

“It helps bring a fresh perspective to the regulatory discussions that are going on today. The recommendations if accepted will open immense potential for Indians to participate in this new global asset class.”

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently showed support for the crypto economy by saying that regulators would prefer to allow certain windows for crypto use cases instead of going for an outright ban.