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Not minding the uncertain regulatory climate surrounding cryptocurrencies in India, foremost US hedge fund Tiger Global Management has completed another funding round for fast-rising crypto startup Coinswitch Kuber.
$25 Million for Indian Exchange
Coinswitch Kuber, a crypto investment platform that lets retail investors in India trade cryptocurrencies from their mobile phones, has closed a Series B funding round.
The fundraising session spearheaded by US hedge fund Tiger Global Management saw Coinswitch come out with $25 million infused into the company. This new round of investment sees Coinswitch’s valuation approach the $500 million mark.
Coinswitch Kuber previously raised $15 million in January in a Series A seed investment with US angel investment firm Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital India, and Kunal Shah.
Coinswitch has so far raised over $41 million from venture capital firms.
The Bangalore-based crypto startup was founded in 2017 by a trio of Ashish Singal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar Tiwari as a crypto aggregator.
It subsequently started its investment platform in 2020, focusing on the Indian marketplace.
It has since seen growth due to growing interests in the flourishing crypto space and boasts of 4.5 million active users.
Speaking at the event, CEO Singhal noted that Coinswitch is on a mission to simplify crypto investment for the Indian populace. He also said Coinswitch is rolling out educational tools to make this process easier.
According to the former software developer for e-commerce giant Amazon, Coinswitch aims to become the ultimate destination for everything crypto in the world’s second-largest internet market.
Coinswitch Kuber plans to use the new funds to increase its workforce from 135 to 300. It will prioritize areas of technology, product upgrades, and security. It will also invest in creating awareness for cryptocurrencies as investment vehicles.
Tiger’s recent foray into the Asian market may seem ill-timed given the unclear regulatory goalposts pervading the crypto space in the Indian market, and CEO Singhal noted that.
According to him, the US firm is not discouraged even though there are growing rumors that a bill is being prepared to outlaw private crypto ownership in the country.
The US firm has enjoyed a stellar year so far after one of its crypto bellwethers, Coinbase, became publicly tradable on Nasdaq on April 14.
It has also been making strides in the Indian crypto space, with reports stating that it is set to fund 25 Indian startups in the coming weeks. About 10 of these startups will receive funds ranging from $10 million to $100 million before the end of the year.
Bitcoin is King In India
The Indian crypto universe, like most of the global crypto community, believes that Bitcoin is all there is in the cryptocurrency market. According to Singhal, Bitcoin is one of the most heavily traded crypto assets in the country. But he has said that Coinswitch is planning to include more traditional investment platforms.
According to him, Coinswitch Kuber will allow its teeming youths to invest in mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and other asset classes. This would see Coinswitch Kuber provide complete portfolio management for its users.
Headquartered in Singapore, Coinswitch has continued to enjoy a phenomenal year after it claimed to have processed over $5 billion in transactions volume between May 2020 and March 2021. It is planning to onboard 10 million users before the year runs out.
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