CoinDCX raises fresh funding of $2.5 million from Polychain Capital, Coinbase Ventures

Mumbai-based cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX has raised $2.5 million in a strategic investment round from Polychain Capital along with Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of American cryptocurrency major Coinbase.

The new funds will help the startup drive crypto adoption in India and propel it towards pushing the number of crypto adopters in India to 50 million.

The investment will bolster CoinDCX’s efforts in building a user-focused and secure exchange to support the growing demand for crypto in India. It will also be used to support its $1.3 million initiative for educational campaigns, meetup events, community engagements, and consumer campaigns. Part of the initiative will include a roll out of Academy, a blockchain and cryptocurrency learning program aimed towards first-time crypto traders.

“The recent months have shown that the cryptocurrency industry in India is finally getting the recognition it deserves from global corporations and investors… We look forward to our investors’ continued counsel in building the most trusted and safe exchange for our users,” said Sumit Gupta, the co-founder of CoinDCX.

This is a follow-up investment for Polychain Capital in this platform after leading a $3 million Series A round, which also included Bain Capital Ventures and HDR Group and others. Coinbase Ventures’ investment is the first such investment in an Indian blockchain company.

Following the lifting of an industry-wide banking ban by the Reserve Bank of India in February, CoinDCX witnessed 10-time growth in sign-ups in one week, 47 percent growth in trading volumes, 150 percent growth in daily active users in March alone.

Moneycontrol wrote on May 15 that the business has been booming for these platforms as more investors show interest towards crypto assets and trading. (https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/coronavirus-pandemic-business-booms-for-crypto-exchanges-as-economy-takes-a-beating-5271251.html)

CoinDCX competes with other crypto exchanges like WazirX and Unocoin. WazirX recently got acquired by Binance, another global crypto trading platform.