Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber raises $260m
By Vinu Lal
10:00, 6 October 2021
Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch Kuber said in a press statement on Wednesday that it raised $260m in Series C funding round from the US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and investment firm Coinbase Ventures.
This investment makes CoinSwitch Kuber the second crypto unicorn in India – CoinDCX being the first – valuing the firm at $1.9bn.
Making its debut investment in India, Andreessen Horowitz backs entrepreneurs building the future through technology, while Coinbase is one of the early pioneers in creating a crypto economy and operates one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges.
Existing investors
Existing investors of the crypto exchange include private equity firms Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global along with notable angel investors like Kunal Shah. All the funds also participated in the latest funding round.
“CoinSwitch Kuber is on a mission to build wealth for Indians by making crypto more accessible. I believe, simplifying crypto investments for the Indian youth has helped us to stand out. We wanted to remove all the complexities in crypto trading, educate consumers and give them a simplified experience of one-click buy and sell in crypto,” said CoinSwitch Kuber co-founder and chief executive officer Ashish Singhal.
“We are humbled by the trust shown in CoinSwitch Kuber by two of the biggest names in the global crypto investment arena with Andreessen Horowitz choosing us to be their first investment in India. Coinbase Ventures’ investment is also testimony to the confidence they have in CoinSwitch Kuber’s business model and tremendous potential India’s crypto space has to offer,” he added.
Indian crypto market
CoinSwitch Kuber would use the proceeds to onboard 50 million Indians on its platform and introduce new crypto products, hire talent including leaders and experts and rope in institutional clients among others, according to the statement.
It would also use the proceeds to set up an ecosystem fund to identify and enable budding talent in the country and create a knowledge-driven crypto ecosystem in India and provide holistic crypto education to investors among others.
“We are incredibly excited about the crypto market opportunity in India, and with its breakout growth, CoinSwitch has emerged as the leading retail platform in the country,” said David George, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
The company launched its India operations in June 2020. CoinSwitch Kuber has over 10 million users in India with a monthly active user base of over 7 million.