CoinDCX joins advertising council to build credibility for crypto ads

Indias first crypto unicorn CoinDCX announced that it has joined Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to actively support the advancement of advertising standards within India’s cryptocurrency and digital asset industry, thereby promoting transparency and building public confidence in the space.

The announcement came amidst regulatory uncertainty in the crypto space in India, and followed the Delhi High Court's July 2021 move to issue notices to crypto firms and authorities to enforce guidelines (such as ad disclaimers) for exchanges advertising on national television.

The court sought responses from entities, reportedly including CoinDCX and WazirX, besides the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Commenting on the move to join ASCI, Sumit Gupta, Co-founder and CEO of CoinDCX, said in a statement:

“The involvement reaffirms our commitment towards ensuring safety and security for our users, and to raise the bar for advertising transparency in crypto space in India. This will boost confidence among the users, and they can use our platform without any apprehension."

"Being the safest crypto exchange, we have always gone the extra mile to ensure we are fully compliant with the laws and imbue credibility and trust in our service and products," he added.

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Earlier in August, the exchange closed a $90 million Series C funding round, led by Facebook Co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group. The Series C funding round raised CoinDCX’s valuation to $1.1 billion, making it the first Indian cryptocurrency exchange to reach the coveted unicorn status.

The round also saw participation from existing investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Block.one, Jump Capital, among others, alongside other veteran investors.

The newly injected funds will reportedly be used predominantly to further the crypto startup's ambition of ensuring that "crypto awareness is spread to the length and breadth of India".

Regarding the ASCI announcement, Subhash Kamath, Chairman of ASCI, said:

“As ASCI steps into a digital age, the nature of advertisers and advertising is changing rapidly. We welcome members representing these new industries, who believe in self-regulation. Collaboration and consultation with all stakeholders are keys to navigating the consumer protection challenges posed in this digital age.”

Founded in 2018, CoinDCX claims to have onboarded more than 3.5 million users. It will now carry forward the vision of making crypto accessible in India and accelerating its efforts towards bringing 50 million Indians into crypto.