Coinbase boosts investment in Indian CoinDCX, values ​​exchange at $2.45 billion

Coinbase has increased its investment in India’s CoinDCX, valuing the exchange at US$2.45 billion, as the US cryptocurrency giant bets on the potential of digital assets in the country even as regulation remains unclear.

The investment is an extension of CoinDCX’s previous financing round and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, the companies said on Wednesday. They did not disclose the amount invested or the size of the Coinbase stake, but they noted that the new round increased the Indian stock market’s valuation from $2.15 billion in its last increase in April 2022.

CoinDCX confirmed to TechCrunch that the latest funding is an investment of new capital by Coinbase. The US exchange has been an investor in CoinDCX since 2020 and last backed the Indian exchange in its Series D round in 2022 through its venture capital arm Coinbase Ventures.

Notably, the funding comes just months after CoinDCX suffered a security breach in July that led to the theft of assets worth approximately $44 million. This comes amid reports earlier this year that Coinbase was acquiring CoinDCX – claims the CEO of the Indian exchange denied at the time.

“This investment adds to our growing presence in the region, where we also maintain local operations and other important local partners,” Shan Agarwal, chief business officer at Coinbase, said in a blog post. “Taken together, these steps reflect a clear commitment: We believe India and its neighbors will help shape the future of the global chain economy.”

More than a year after ceasing its operations in India, Coinbase returned to the market earlier this year by registering with the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The US exchange is also an investor in CoinSwitch, another leading Indian crypto platform.

India, the world’s most populous country and home to more than a billion internet subscribers, is a major market for American tech giants. However, the South Asian country is still a relatively small market for cryptocurrencies, partly due to regulatory uncertainty and a flat 30% government tax on digital asset gains, along with a 1% tax on each transaction. New Delhi also restricts offshore cryptocurrency exchanges unless they are registered with its financial watchdog. Recently, 25 global exchanges — including BingX, LBank, and CoinW — came under government scrutiny for failing to register and comply with anti-money laundering rules.

Coinbase’s move to double down on CoinDCX to expand its presence in India makes strategic sense, as the Indian exchange has a strong local footprint with over 20.4 million users. In July, CoinDCX reported customer assets exceeding INR 100 billion (about US$1.12 billion), annual group revenue of INR 11.79 billion (about US$133 million), and annual transaction volume across products totaling INR 13.7 trillion (about US$154.6 billion).

In addition to India, CoinDCX expanded into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region last year through the acquisition of BitOasis. Coinbase can leverage this footprint to strengthen its presence in the region, one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency markets globally.

The new capital will be used to enhance products, drive user growth, expand into new geographies, and deepen educational initiatives, CoinDCX said in a statement.

“We see strong synergy with Coinbase in building a compliant, regulatory-friendly ecosystem in India, the MENA region and beyond,” said Sumit Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO, CoinDCX.