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.
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.
The crypto exchange has managed to get 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.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.
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.
