Oct 6, 2021 - Economy

Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber valued at $1.9 billion

Dan Primack

Animated illustration of a hand holding a rotating glowing golden pixel coin. — Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

CoinSwitch Kuber, an Indian crypto exchange, raised $260 million at a $1.9 billion valuation co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures.

Why it matters: All crypto investments are done against the backdrop of regulatory uncertainty, but the situation is even more fraught in India, where there's been government talk of a total ban on both trading and holding.

But the lure of India's giant population was apparently too much for Andreessen Horowitz, which had never before done a deal in the country, with CoinSwitch Kuber saying it will use proceeds to onboard 50 million new customers.

Other investors include Sequoia Capital India, Paradigm, Tiger Global and Ribbit Capital.

The bottom line: "The exchange's unicorn status follows the $1 billion valuation attained by rival crypto exchange CoinDCX in August in a $90 million funding round that also included contribution from Coinbase," CoinDesk writes.

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Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber valued at $1.9 billion

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