Indian exchange CoinDCX raises $3M Serie A funding

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Indian digital currency exchange CoinDCX has closed its Series A funding round, raising $3 million. The funding round was led by Polychain Capital, HDR Group and Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from other VC firms. CoinDCX will use the funding to expand its reach, employ more staff members and to conduct research and development.

The Mumbai-based exchange took to Twitter to announce the success of the funding round.

BIG NEWS:

CoinDCX secures $3 Million Series A funding led by Polychain Capital (@polychaincap), Bain Capital Ventures (@BainCapVC) and HDR Group, operator of Bitmex (@BitMEXdotcom) with participation from other VCs.#TryCrypto

Read in detail here – https://t.co/bJk8Zmoyxi

— CoinDCX: India's Safest Crypto Platform (@CoinDCX) March 24, 2020

It will use the funds to enhance its products and services, in marketing activities, to conduct research and development of its products and to grow its staff numbers. Sumit Gupta, the exchange’s cofounder and CEO told The Block that it plans on doubling its employees, currently 50, in the next six months in departments such as marketing and support, technology and growth.

The funding comes just weeks after the Supreme Court lifted the banking ban, a decision that has seen rapid growth of the Indian digital currency space. Exchanges are now registering unprecedented numbers of new users, and CoinDCX has been one of the biggest beneficiaries.

Gupta remarked, “With the crypto space in India developing at breakneck speed, we plan to build a new fiat onboarding solution, algorithm-based trading, crypto-to-crypto trading, and introduce new trading pairs.”

The investors were full of optimism for the exchange’s future. Arthur Hayes, the CEO of HDR Group, which is the owner and operator of BitMEX exchange commented, “The recent developments in the cryptocurrency regulatory landscape in India are very encouraging and are likely to accelerate adoption and innovation in this sector. We are excited to be investors in CoinDCX and believe that their talented team and technology will allow them to be the dominant cryptocurrency venue in the region.”

Olaf Carlson-Wee, the founder of Polychain Capital reiterated Hayes’ remarks, expressing belief that the Indian market is going to explode in the next few months.

Bain Capital Ventures has invested in CoinDCX previously, having participated in a funding round held in March last year. The exchange didn’t disclose the amount it raised back then, or its valuation. It did, however, reveal that it was processing about $1 million a day in trading volume.

CoinDCX has already proven to be a leader in the Indian market. Even during the banking ban, it managed to register 35,000 new users. “Since the ban was lifted, sign-ups on the platform increased by 10x,” Gupta revealed. The trading volume has averaged $10-15 million since the lifting of the ban.

CoinDCX recently invested $1.3 million in TryCrypto, a campaign that will focus on promoting the use of digital currencies in India. The exchange has partnered with other blockchain and digital currency startups, as well as media outlets in its initiative. CoinDCX also recently partnered with global giant OKEx to launch a digital currency futures product.