- Source: Coinswitch
Coinswitch is an Indian cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. Founded in 2017, the platform enables users to trade Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) with Indian Rupees. In October 2021, Coinswitch secured $260 million in Series C funding, valuing the company at $1.9 billion.
History
Coinswitch was founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar. Initially, the platform operated as an exchange for global investors due to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) restrictions on cryptocurrency trading in India, imposed in April 2018. In March 2020, the RBI's ban was lifted by the Supreme Court of India, paving the way for cryptocurrency trading in the country. Following this development, Coinswitch launched Coinswitch Kuber in June 2020 for Indian retail investors. The platform registered over one million users soon after its launch.
In January 2021, Coinswitch raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Ribbit Capital and Paradigm. In April, it raised $25 million in a Series B funding round from Tiger Global Management, which brought its valuation to over $500 million. By October 2021, Coinswitch completed a Series C funding round, raising $260 million at a valuation of $1.9 billion. In October 2021, the company appointed Ranveer Singh, a Bollywood actor, as its first brand ambassador.
In March 2022, Coinswitch completed its first Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) buyback, valued at $2.5 million. In December 2022, the company rebranded by removing "Kuber" from its name.
By March 2024, Coinswitch had 20 million registered users. In April, its parent company, PeepalCo, launched a brokerage arm for equity trading and an investment app called Lemonn. In May, Coinswitch released its third Proof of Reserves (POR) report, confirming that its crypto and INR holdings exceeded customer balances. In June, the company partnered with SonyLIVfor UEFA Euro 2024.
In September 2024, Coinswitch launched investment services for high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and institutional investors, including the Crypto Rupee Index (CRE8) and a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) for crypto investments.
Lawsuit
In July 2024, Coinswitch filed a lawsuit against WazirX, another crypto exchange, over its failure to return funds lost during a cyberattack. WazirX lost $230 million in that attack, and Coinswitch had about $9.65 million in assets on its platform. The breach affected around 45% of WazirX's total assets and involved a serious security flaw in one of its multi-sig wallets. Following the incident, WazirX suspended all withdrawals and cryptocurrency trading on its platform.
References
External links
Official website
