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Sumit Gupta

CoinDCX’s valuation doubles following $135M Funding

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India’s leading trading platform CoinDCX has doubled its valuation to $2.15 billion after a fresh $135 million capital injection, with an aim to spread its footprint in the web3 and the crypto industry in general co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal tweeted today.

The Series D financing round was spearheaded by Steadview and Pantera Capital. Others who backed the funding exercise were Coinbase Ventures, Kingsway, DraperDragon, Republic, and Kindred Ventures also participated in the Mumbai-headquartered startup’s new funding. To date, CoinDCX has raised more than $245 million.

In an interview with a local news outlet, Sumit Gupta CEO of CoinDCX told that the recent funding exercise demonstrates the bullish sentiments of global investors in the Indian crypto ecosystem despite domestic regulatory challenges.

The news also comes weeks after India’s crypto taxation rule came into effect. The rule imposed 30% on income generated on digital assets and also includes a 1% tax deduction at source for each trade. This resulted in a drastic reduction in the daily trading volumes across crypto exchanges as many investors and traders continue shunning crypto assets.

Admitted to being hit by the move, Gupta noted that the 1% TDS has made it somewhat less feasible for some High-Frequency Trading [HFT] to perform normally. “We continue to see new users come to the platform, but the growth is not as high as it used to be, say, two months ago,” he added.

CoinDCX to double down on its compliance efforts

The startup plans to double down on its compliance efforts, he said. “We will do whatever it takes to give more comfort to the regulators,” he said.

The crypto trading platform became the first Indian crypto firm to attain the unicorn status last year having amassed over 10 million users. Besides enabling users to purchase tokens for as low as 100 Indian rupees [$1.3], CoinDCX also provides margin trading and the option to stake digital assets.

CoinDCX, in collaboration with Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital, is also working to educate the retail investors and help contribute to expanding the local ecosystem, the exec said. The startup plans to introduce educational content and byte-sized videos in its app, Gupta said.

Indian Cryptocurrency Exchange CoinDCX Raises Millions in Latest Investment Round

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Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market have tried their best to become mainstream after a decade of their inception. This growing financial sector has become so important that regions around the world have begun to rethink their applications.

India was one of the few countries vehemently opposed to cryptocurrencies. The ban on cryptocurrency has been so effective that digital asset companies have been brought to the ground while many have relocated. Following the recent withdrawal of the ban by the Supreme Court of India, the country has seen a dramatic increase in the number of crypto investors.

CoinDCX was one of the few Indian cryptocurrency exchanges that were ramping up efforts to expand Indian cryptocurrency space. According to new reports, the exchange raised more than $3 million from investors in its most recent funding round. CoinDCX claimed that the new space investors were excited to form an ecosystem of change, innovation, and rapid progress.

According to sources, CoinDCX raised more than $3 million from investors like Bain Capital Ventures, Polychain Capital and HDR Global Trading. HDR Global Trading sounds familiar because it is involved in operating cryptocurrency exchanges like the popular BitMEX.

The sudden surge in investments started right after the Indian Supreme Court adjudged that the 2018 ban on crypto was unjust. According to the premier court in the country, the RBI’s stance on digital assets would hamper growth and development in the country. Sumit Gupta, the CEO and Co-founder of CoinDCX stated:

“As the country’s largest exchange, we are in a position to drive national crypto adoption forward responsibly. This successful investment round will go a long way in funding our vision of accelerating India’s growth into a US$5 trillion economy. With a slew of exciting projects in the pipeline, the closure of our Series A is the first step in a new chapter in the CoinDCX story as we continue to drive the mass adoption of crypto assets in India.”

CoinDCX stated that it would use the capital to revamp its marketing aspects as well as boost its product developments. Sumit Gupta added that cryptocurrency as an asset was just about to take off in the country. India stands in the perfect position to leverage the current market and draw attention to the changes in the space, said Sumit Gupta. CoinDCX was one of three Indian cryptocurrency exchanges that remained open during the ban and it looks like it paid dividends.

The exchange will allow more users to get on board by buying cryptocurrencies with fiat. One of the USP’s of CoinDCX has been its algorithm-based trading that has enabled users to make seamless transactions. The good news was in complete contrast to the situation in 2018 when the industry crumbled in India after RBI’s decision. CoinDCX has also pledged $1.3 million for a campaign called ‘TryCrypto’. The aim of the program is to increase the number of crypto users in India to 50 million.

The CoinDCX development came right after Tim Draper made glowing comments about the Supreme Court’s decision. The serial investor admitted that he would be interested in contributing to some of the great projects in India and boost the cryptocurrency space.

CoinDCX CEO Pens Letter To India’s Finance Minister About Crypto; Reiterates The Fantastic Opportunities

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India’s tryst with cryptocurrencies has been ongoing for a long time now and the negative stance perpetuated in the country has also become a big issue. This has not stopped cryptocurrency organizations and proponents from clearing the air about the industry.

In a recent letter to the Financial Minister of India, the CEO of the cryptocurrency trading platform CoinDCX spoke about how the digital assets industry can become a major part of the country’s next Union budget. 

Sumit Gupta, the chief executive of CoinDCX urged FM Nirmala Sitharaman to keep an open mind about digital assets and look at it as an opportunity. Gupta added that the goal was to create a dynamic industry that would run parallel to the traditional economy. He reassured the minister that cryptocurrencies were not planning to usurp the position held by fiat currencies but rather complement it. In his words:

“India has been presented with the chance to be a part of a new wave of innovation, which is a tremendous opportunity to bolster the strength of our future economy. Just as the internet fundamentally altered the way we live and work, cryptocurrencies have the potential to change the way we participate in the global financial system.”

The CoinDCX official opined that at a time when other countries were receiving billions of dollars in fintech investments, India was barely scratching the surface. He took the example of Singapore, a burgeoning economy that received $53 billion just in the fintech industry. Looking at the numbers, India only received a mere 0.02 percent of Singapore’s total holdings.

In the letter, Gupta tried to convince Nirmala Sitharaman about the socio-economic advantages of crypto in India. He claimed that the agricultural sector in India can greatly benefit from microfinance portals and smart contract-based supply chains. The implementation of such models is expected to lead to greater traceability and convenience during transfers.

According to Gupta, the implementation of blockchain technology will result in greater collaboration between the public and private sectors. He reiterated that the opportunity presented by crypto should not be passed upon by a growing economy like India. The country is still in the midst of figuring out how to deal with digital assets, with the Supreme Court overseeing the proceedings.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India has directed all the banks to not deal with cryptocurrencies. The main reasons cited for this ban was that cryptocurrencies could be used for ‘terror financing’ and blatant money laundering. To counter this notion, the CoinDCX CEO suggested measures such as penal frameworks and KYC implementation across the fintech industry. The Finance Minister was told that clear guidelines were imperative for the industry to thrive, guidelines created on proper facts and information.

Nirmala Sitharaman has not responded to the letter yet but crypto proponents were anxious to see what her reply might be. At a time when tensions were high in the country, a public letter from a crypto personality is seen as a step in the right direction for the industry.