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In today’s newsletter: 

• Binance CEO Richard Teng’s India pitch 
• Meesho, Aequs IPOs deliver blockbuster subscription
• After Ola, PhonePe pulls plug on ONDC offering

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Binance, the world's largest crypto platform, is setting its sights on a monumental goal: one billion users. 

• To achieve this, the company knows it must successfully navigate the world's most promising yet complex crypto landscape: India

In an exclusive interview, CEO Richard Teng told us that India is an "extremely critical market" for Binance's long-term ambitions.

However, growth is hampered by the current crypto regulatory haze in the country. Teng’s key message to Indian policymakers is a strong urge to embrace the sector and, crucially, ensure full banking support for crypto businesses.

“We hope Indian regulators will embrace different aspects of crypto. Trading is just one aspect, stablecoins and crypto payments are important too,” Teng said.

If there's one thing Teng wants investors to remember, it's this: short-term volatility doesn't derail long-term potential.

“The long-term growth trajectory of crypto remains very, very strong. If you look at Bitcoin, it started in 2024 at around $40,000. Even at today's rate, it has more than doubled,” Teng said.

He believes the US pivoting from anti-crypto to aspiring crypto capital will have positive global spillover effects.

Also read: Yi He was always strategically involved; the co-CEO title just makes it official: Binance's CZ

Teng believes the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) experiment will have implications far beyond just being a digital form of the rupee.

• He suggests the CBDC pilot will give the central bank a better know-how of the blockchain technology, easing the RBI's concerns about crypto's volatility.

Teng has worked with governments around the world on crypto regulations. He believes stablecoins and CBDCs are key use cases of blockchain, making them a strong entry point for India’s banking sector.

Read the full interview

Two IPOs, two frenzies. 

Meesho’s stock-market debut has drawn huge interest, with investors crowding in on the final day of bidding.

The e-commerce firm’s IPO received bids for 2,196.20 crore shares against 27.79 crore available, a 79× subscription on the last day. 

• The offer was subscribed 2.35× on Day 1 and 7.97× on Day 2 

Meesho’s share allotment is expected to be finalised on December 8, with the stock slated to list on the exchanges on December 10.

• Qualified Institutional Buyers: 120.18×
  
  
• Non-Institutional Investors: 38.14×
  
  
• Retail Investors: 19.02×

The company also secured strong institutional backing ahead of the public offering, raising over Rs 2,439 crore from anchor investors.

Meesho set a price band of Rs 105–111 per share, valuing the firm at Rs 50,096 crore at the top end.

• In the grey market, Meesho shares are showing strong interest with a Rs 48 GMP, hinting at a 43% listing gain, according to experts

• Cloud infrastructure

• Marketing and brand building

• Acquisitions and expansion

The IPO of Aequs continued to see strong investor interest on its third and final day of public bidding.

• The Rs 922-crore IPO closed after being subscribed nearly 102 times its offer size on Day 3

According to IPO Watch, the unlisted shares of the company were trading with 34.67% GMP over the IPO price. The price band has been set at Rs 118-124 per share. 

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is showing signs of cracking…one stress point after another. 

 Pincode, the hyperlocal shopping app that PhonePe launched for ONDC, is shuttering its B2C arm.

• Pincode was PhonePe’s quick-commerce bet on ONDC, offering rapid delivery of food, groceries and more. But the results didn’t pan out

After rolling back select offerings over the past few months, Pincode is now fully shutting down its B2C vertical, the company announced on December 5. It will focus solely on B2B, providing inventory-management software and other tools to kiranas and small shopkeepers.

“...operating yet another B2C quick commerce app ourselves was distracting us from our core mission,” PhonePe founder & Group CEO Sameer Nigam said.

Pincode will continue only as a B2B product, offering software to help kiranas run operations more effectively.

Pincode is bowing out at a time when Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto are intensifying the quick-commerce battle.

• Pincode is not the only casualty of the intensifying rivalry, but it is the latest ONDC offering to go down
  

Earlier this week, we reported Ola Foods shut shop, after multiple attempts, essentially meaning ONDC has one less food delivery option. 

Dig deeper

• Cristiano Ronaldo announced his investment and global partnership with Perplexity AI, saying on X that curiosity drives greatness and that his commitment to asking new questions each day makes him proud to back the company.
  
  
• NTT DATA CEO Abhijit Dubey said a potential AI bubble may deflate faster than past tech cycles but will be followed by an even stronger rebound as corporate adoption catches up with infrastructure spending.

If you’re chasing two completely different moods this weekend, here’s a perfect double bill.

For slow-burn chills, try Dies Irae, a Malayalam horror-thriller where an affluent man’s life unravels as he senses a supernatural presence lurking. Watch it on JioHotstar

Switch gears with Jay Kelly, a comedy-thriller starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, a Baumbach-crafted tale of fame, fallout and fragile egos. Watch it on Netflix 

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