[Funding alert] CoinDCX raises $2.5M from Polychain Capital, Coinbase Ventures

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX has announced that it has secured a $2.5 million strategic investment led by Polychain Capital with support from Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of San Francisco-based cryptocurrency giant Coinbase. The investment aims to bring the total number of cryptocurrency users in India to 50 million.

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The announcement of the strategic investment from Polychain Capital and Coinbase Ventures comes at a time of unprecedented growth and record trading volumes for the cryptocurrency industry in India, despite the global economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. CoinDCX states the investment will bolster its efforts in building a user-focused and secure exchange to support the growing demand for cryptocurrency in India, as well as supporting CoinDCX’s Rs 10 crore ($1.3 million) #TryCrypto initiative for educational initiatives, meetup events, community engagements, and consumer campaigns. Part of the initiative will include a roll-out of Academy, a full-fledged blockchain and cryptocurrency learning programme aimed towards first-time and novice cryptocurrency traders.

Sumit Gupta, CEO and Co-founder of CoinDCX, said, “The recent months have shown that the cryptocurrency industry in India is finally getting the recognition it deserves from global corporations and investors. Our relationship with Polychain Capital goes from strength to strength, reflecting our great partnership with the Polychain team. We are also excited to add Coinbase Ventures as an investor; Coinbase’s vision and successful efforts for global cryptocurrency adoption have been admirable and mirrors CoinDCX’s dream for a DeFi future. This new strategic investment into CoinDCX is a shot of confidence in our roadmap toward bringing the crypto asset class to a largely untapped Indian market.”

Polychain Capital also recently led CoinDCX’s $3 million Series A round, which also included Bain Capital Ventures and HDR Group, Operator of BitMEX. Coinbase Ventures’ investment into CoinDCX comes after Coinbase began serving Indian customers in April 2019 and marks Coinbase’s first investment in an Indian blockchain company. Through Coinbase Ventures, Coinbase has also made investments in key cryptocurrency businesses such as Compound, BlockFi, Etherscan, Securitize, and Messari.

Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder of Polychain Capital, said,: "We have worked closely with CoinDCX from an early stage, and have continued to be impressed by the team and vision. Their thoughtful insights into the Indian market, as well as their long-term product roadmap, have strengthened our belief in the potential of the business."

"As one of the earliest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, Coinbase has been a pioneer in providing a safe and secure platform for those looking to enter the cryptocurrency market. In working with Sumit, Neeraj, and their team at CoinDCX, Coinbase Ventures see a team that shares our approach of building trust with their customers," said Shan Aggarwal, Head of Coinbase Ventures.

Following the lifting of an industry-wide banking ban by the Reserve Bank of India in February, CoinDCX says it witnessed a 10x growth in sign-ups in one week, 47 percent growth in trading volumes, 150 percent growth in daily active users in March alone, and claims to be the first cryptocurrency exchange in India to integrate bank account transfers on its exchange.

CoinDCX aims to be the global gateway to cryptocurrencies. CoinDCX is backed by investors such as Polychain Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and HDR Group, operator of BitMEX. CoinDCX offers users an integrated suite of products, including DCXinsta, providing fiat onboarding from Indian Rupees (INR) to cryptocurrency; DCXlend, a decentralised lending service; DCXmargin, with up to 6x leverage trades across more than 250 markets; and DCXfutures, with up to 20x leverage trades on leading digital assets futures.