India\u2019s recent past has been tumultuous on the cryptocurrency front, yet the local industry is nonetheless rumored to be on the verge of producing another crypto unicorn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to an unconfirmed report published today, sources allegedly familiar with the matter have claimed that crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber is in the \u201cadvanced stages of talks\u201d for a fresh financing round that would see the platform valued $2 billion.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s close to twice the valuation of the country\u2019s first crypto unicorn: rival crypto exchange CoinDCX had raised $90 million in a Series C funding round this summer at a valuation of $1.1 billion. CoinDCX\u2019s funding was led by B Capital Group and included Block.one, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain and Jump Capital. CoinSwitch Kuber has allegedly been engaging closely with Coinbase and Andreessen Horowitz (A16z). If the latter signs on, it would be the VC firm\u2019s first investment in an Indian startup.<\/p>\n
CoinSwitch Kuber\u2019s strong growth to over 7 million monthly active users in August, up from roughly 4 million in April, could reportedly secure a further $100 million for the company, should the deal be finalized. While the ambiguous regulatory and legal landscape for decentralized cryptocurrencies in India has continued to deter a handful of high-profile businesses from entering the sector, the rise of trading platforms like CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX – the latter has roughly 3.5 million users for its part – suggests retail investors are ever more enthusiastic.\u00a0Investments in the Indian crypto sector meanwhile rose 600% between mid-2020 and June of this year.<\/p>\n