India mints first crypto unicorn even as doubts remain

The crypto exchange raised $90m, including from Facebook’s Saverin, & aims to double its team to about 400 people in India.

CoinDCX became India’s first cryptocurrency unicorn after the exchange raised 6.70 billion rupees ($90 million) from investors led by Facebook Inc. co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group, even as local authorities push back against crypto assets. The latest funding round values the firm at $1.1 billion, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Sumit Gupta said in an interview Tuesday. Other investors include existing partners Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Block.one, and Jump Capital. Gupta plans to use part of the funds to double his team in the next six months to about 400 people in India, where investments in crypto grew to nearly $6.6 billion in May from some $923 million in April 2020, according to Chainalysis. The investment comes as policymakers continue to debate on the status of digital currencies in India — as recently as last week the central bank said it has “major concerns” about private virtual currencies and the government will take a final stance on the matter.