CoinDCX becomes India’s first crypto exchange to hit unicorn status

CoinDCX, an exchange platform of private cryptocurrencies, on Tuesday announced a USD 90 million fundraise which values the company at over USD 1.1 billion, even as RBI's concerns on private cryptocurrencies continue. B Capital Group, founded by former co-founder of Facebook Eduardo Saverin, led the Series C funding in the company, which also saw participation from existing investors like Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Block.one, Jump Capital, an official statement said.

The round raised CoinDCX's valuation to USD 1.1 billion (around Rs 8,150 crore), making it the first Indian cryptocurrency exchange to reach the unicorn status (companies with over USD 1 billion valuation), it added. The RBI has been voicing concerns about cryptos like Bitcoins because of its unregulated nature, even as a Supreme Court ruling in 2020, had ruled in favour of such virtual currencies.

The company statement said the newly injected funds will be used predominantly to ensure "crypto awareness" across the length and breadth of India. "The funds raised will be allocated to expand (bring more Indians to crypto/make crypto a popular investment asset class in India) and strengthen our workforce that will cater to our growth story. We will hire talent across multiple functions, and focus on new business initiatives," its co-founder and chief executive Sumit Gupta said.

The company also intends to partner with key fintech players to expand the crypto investor base, set up a Research & Development (R&D) facility, strengthen "policy conversations through public discourse" and work with the "government to introduce favorable regulations", he added. He said India is experiencing a "dramatic growth" in demand for cryptocurrencies and digital assets, yet only few platforms provide the efficiency, security and compliance that investors have come to expect.

It will take support from the largest institutional backers in both the traditional and digital asset spaces as it doubles down efforts to build products, he added. It also plans to strengthen the product team to build next generation products and launch customer retention campaigns as it works towards sustainable growth rate, the statement said.

The company, founded in 2018, boasts of 35 lakh users at present and aims to make 5 crore Indians as investors in crypto.