Nebilo Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, has racked up Series D funding of $135 million (around Rs 1,000 crore) led by Pantera and Steadview.
The round also saw participation from Kingsway, DraperDragon, Republic and Kindred, with existing investors including B Capital Group, Coinbase, Polychain and Cadenza. The round values the crypto exchange at valuation of $2.15 billion,the company’s spokesperson said.
“The latest round by some of the largest institutional investors only reinforces the belief in India's immense potential in the crypto ecosystem.
With a shared vision of a digital-first economy, we see this round as a strong endorsement of the amazing work that CoinDCX has done for the ecosystem over the years and our plans for the future,” said Sumit Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO, of CoinDCX.
“With a wide array of products built for India, and the commitment to building compliant, simple, and safe solutions, we are uniquely positioned to help forge greater understanding and trust between regulators, industry, and our users, ultimately helping accelerate the growth of Crypto adoption in India and further the march of Web3.0.”
The company has so far raised $245 million from investors. It turned unicorn in August 2021, after securing $90 million from Facebook Founder Eduardo Savarin’s B Capital Group.
A unicorn is a startup with a valuation of at least $1 billion. Founded in 2018, CoinDCX was the first Indian crypto startup to attain unicorn (startups valued at $1 billion or more) status last year.
It allows users to buy various tokens, it also provides margin trading and the option to stake digital assets. The funding comes in the backdrop of crypto exchanges facing new taxation rules in India.
The investment comes at a time of uncertainty in the early-stage industry with government regulations.
The company's peers like WazirX and CoinSwitch Kuber have seen their volumes plummet to new lows this month, due to restricted access to modes of depositing money for users.
Daily trading volumes on Indian crypto exchanges, which collectively cater to about 15 million people, have tumbled by between 88% and 96% since peaking last year, data from CoinGecko showed.
The abrupt reversal by NPCI has left Coinbase customers without any way of funding their accounts with rupees, dealing a blow to its expansion plans in India.
“We are committed to working with NPCI and other relevant authorities to ensure we are aligned with local expectations and industry norms," a spokesperson for Coinbase said in a statement to Bloomberg on April 11, referring to the National Payments Corporation of India, which operates UPI.
CoinDCX has recently partnered with crypto native trade surveillance and market integrity players such as Solidus Labs and Coinfirm to strengthen its anti-money laundering protection and to provide detection and reporting into suspicious activities.
The partnership aims to improve CoinDCX’s compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) recommendations.