CoinDCX raises $90m, becomes India’s first crypto unicorn
B Capital Group has led a $90 million Series C round for Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX at a valuation of $1.1 billion, making it the country’s first crypto unicorn.
Series B investors Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Block.one, and Jump Capital – all crypto specialists – also took part. The Series B closed at $13.6 million last December with support from DG Ventures and Mehta Ventures. Earlier backers include Bain Capital and BitMEX Ventures. Total funding since inception in 2018 comes to about $109 million, according to AVCJ Research.
CoinDCX’s operations include Insta, a P2P service it says is the fastest way to buy and sell crypto with Indian rupees that launched in 2018 amid a central bank ban on cryptocurrency exchanges. The company claims to be the first and only Indian crypto exchange to introduce margin trading with up to 10x leverage across more than 500 markets and futures with up to 20x leverage trades.
Recent product launches include Go, a bitcoin app, Prime, which caters to wealthy individuals and enterprises, and Learn, a crypto and blockchain education service with a range of free courses and certifications. The overall platform has accumulated 3.5 million users to date, according to a statement. A goal has been set for 50 million, although a timeframe has not been specified.
The new capital will used to popularize cryptocurrencies in India and to build out the team across multiple functions with a focus on new business initiatives. There are also plans to enter into partnerships with other financial technology players to set up an R&D facility, advance policy agendas through public discourse, and work with government to introduce favorable regulations.
India is estimated to have about 15 million crypto investors. The largest local exchange is WazirX, a subsidiary of global leader Binance, which recently set up a $50 million fund targeting Indian crypto start-ups. Other competitors include CoinSwitch Kuber, which raised a $25 million Series B in April, and Vauld, which raised a $25 million Series A earlier this month also featuring Coinbase.
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