CoinDCX, India’s first crypto unicorn, plans IPO ‘as soon as’ govt allows

India’s first cryptocurrency unicorn, CoinDCX, plans to pursue an initial public offering as soon as government regulations allow it, according to its co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal.

The share sale would be a key vote of confidence for India’s digital asset industry similar to Coinbase Global Inc.’s U.S. listing earlier this year, Khandelwal said in an interview with Bloomberg Television Monday.

“As soon as the government or the situations allow us, we will try for an IPO,” he said. “An IPO gives a legitimacy to the industry, just like the Coinbase IPO gave a lot of confidence in the crypto markets. Similarly we want to instill a similar level of confidence with an IPO of CoinDCX.”

The firm will decide on a “precise timeline” depending on incoming government regulations, Khandelwal said. “We certainly will look at that in order to grow the industry further,” he said.

CoinDCX’s expansion plans come at a critical time for the industry’s future in India as the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies. The central bank is clear that it wants all private cryptocurrencies banned while it creates an official digital currency. The government, however, is open to exceptions to promote blockchain technology.

Back & forth

Indian regulators have gone back and forth on their stance toward the burgeoning industry. The country effectively banned crypto transactions in 2018, but that restriction was struck down by the Supreme Court last year.

More than half of people surveyed in India are against legalizing cryptocurrencies, preferring instead to tax them like a digital asset held in a foreign country, according to an opinion poll published last week.

The proposed legislation will have a positive impact as it provides clarity for investors and firms such as CoinDCX, Khandelwal said.

“The bill coming up at this juncture signals progress and really acknowledgment from the government side of the growing investor base for crypto,” Khandelwal said.

CoinDCX raised 6.70 billion rupees ($90 million) this year from investors led by Facebook Inc. co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group. The funding round valued the firm at $1.1 billion, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Sumit Gupta said at the time.

(With assistance from Juliette Saly, Rishaad Salamat and Shruti Srivastava.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor