CoinDCX becomes India’s first cryptocurrency unicorn

MUMBAI-BASED cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX has raised $90 million (£64.9m) in a Series C funding round, increasing the firm’s valuation to $1.1 billion (£794m) and making it the first Indian unicorn in the segment.

The fund raising was led by former Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital.

CoinDCX plans to use these funds to attract more Indians and “make crypto a popular investment asset class in India,” Sumit Gupta, co-founder and chief executive officer of the exchange, said in a statement.

A part of these funds will go towards strengthening the company’s workforce, he added.

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

“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,” he added.

This round of fundraising also includes participation of returning investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Polychain, Block.one, and Jump Capital.

Founded in 2018, CoinDCX so far has 3.5 million users onboard.