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Coinswitch
Company typePrivate
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2017
Founders
  • Ashish Singhal
  • Vimal Sagar Tiwari
  • Govind Soni
HeadquartersBangalore, Karnataka, India
Key people
(Co-founder & CEO, PeepalCo Group)
  • Ashish Singhal
  • Vimal Sagar Tiwari
  • Govind Soni
ParentPeepalCo Group
Websitewww.coinswitch.co

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.[1][2]

History

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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,[3] 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.[4] The platform registered over one million users soon after its launch.[5][3]

In January 2021, Coinswitch raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Ribbit Capital and Paradigm.[6] In April, it raised $25 million in a Series B funding round from Tiger Global Management, which brought its valuation to over $500 million.[7] By October 2021, Coinswitch completed a Series C funding round,[8] raising $260 million at a valuation of $1.9 billion.[9][10] In October 2021, the company appointed Ranveer Singh, a Bollywood actor, as its first brand ambassador.[11]

In March 2022, Coinswitch completed its first Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) buyback, valued at $2.5 million.[12] In December 2022, the company rebranded by removing "Kuber" from its name.[13]

By March 2024, Coinswitch had 20 million registered users.[14] In April, its parent company, PeepalCo, launched a brokerage arm for equity trading[15] and an investment app called Lemonn.[16][17][18] In May, Coinswitch released its third Proof of Reserves (POR) report,[19] confirming that its crypto and INR holdings exceeded customer balances.[20] In June, the company partnered with SonyLIVfor UEFA Euro 2024.[21]

In September 2024, Coinswitch launched investment services for high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and institutional investors,[22] including the Crypto Rupee Index (CRE8) and a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) for crypto investments.[23]

Lawsuit

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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.[24] 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.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Das, Shouvik; Goel, Samiksha (15 March 2024). "Crypto exchange CoinSwitch to diversify into wealth products". Livemint.
  2. ^ Jain, Samidha; Sharma, Rucha. "Meet All The 42 Unicorns Born In 2021, The Highest Ever For Any Year". Forbes India.
  3. ^ a b Arakali, Harichandan. "'Don't Ban Bitcoin. It's Good For The Economy'". Forbes India.
  4. ^ Manzar, Nishat (2024-05-10). "CoinSwitch Kuber Success Story: Changing India's Crypto Landscape With New Ideas And Strength". Business Outreach.
  5. ^ Bhatt, Miloni (2022-04-26). "How CoinSwitch Kuber got its mojo back after RBI's 2018 ban". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389.
  6. ^ Mandavia, Megha (2021-01-13). "CoinSwitch raises Rs 109 crore in Series A funding". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389.
  7. ^ Mittal, Apoorva (2021-04-22). "Coinswitch Kuber valued at $500 million after raising $25 million from Tiger". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389.
  8. ^ Ghosh, Surabhi & Debangana (2021-10-06). "CoinSwitch Kuber is India's 2nd crypto unicorn". BusinessLine.
  9. ^ "CoinSwitch raises $260 mn from a16z, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, others". The Hindu. 2021-10-06. ISSN 0971-751X.
  10. ^ "CoinSwitch becomes first crypto platform in India to reach 2 crore users". The Economic Times. 2024-03-06. ISSN 0013-0389.
  11. ^ Nahar, Pawan (2021-10-08). "CoinSwitch Kuber onboards Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassador". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389.
  12. ^ "CoinSwitch completes maiden ESOP buyback worth $2.5 mn". The Economic Times. 2022-03-21. ISSN 0013-0389.
  13. ^ Ghosh, Debangana (December 20, 2022). "We will have seven new products by the end of next year, including FDs, ETFs, and mutual funds: CoinSwitch's Ashish Singhal". Moneycontrol.
  14. ^ Yerunkar, Anirudha (March 7, 2024). "Bitcoin Touches $69,000, CoinSwitch Crosses 2 Crore Register Users; Is Investing In Cryptocurrency Worth Now? Know More Things Over Here". india.com.
  15. ^ Desai, Prathik (2024-04-03). "CoinSwitch's Parent Firm PeepalCo Enters Stockbroking with 'Lemonn'". Outlook Business.
  16. ^ Bhatnagar, Rishabh (2024-04-02). "CoinSwitch Parent Takes On Zerodha, Groww With Stock Trading App Lemonn". NDTV Profit.
  17. ^ Kawale, Ajinkya (April 2, 2024). "Crypto exchange platform CoinSwitch's parent launches app for stock broking". Business Standard.
  18. ^ "CoinSwitch's parent entity ventures into stock broking with Lemonn". The Economic Times. 2024-04-02. ISSN 0013-0389.
  19. ^ Dixit, Pranav (2024-05-24). "Reserves exceed customer holdings, can cover all user redemptions: Crypto exchange CoinSwitch". Business Today.
  20. ^ Kawale, Ajinkya (May 23, 2024). "Crypto exchange CoinSwitch publishes third edition of proof of reserves". Business Standard.
  21. ^ Khandelwal, Aashay (2024-06-18). "CoinSwitch teams up with SonyLIV for UEFA Euro 2024; launches 'Switch to CoinSwitch' campaign". SportsMint Media.
  22. ^ B, Sanjana (2024-09-05). "CoinSwitch launches specialised crypto investment services for HNIs and institutions". BusinessLine.
  23. ^ Manchanada, Kunal (2024-03-13). "CoinSwitch's scale dwindles 82% in FY23; posts Rs 385 Cr loss". Entrackr.
  24. ^ Singh, Manish (2024-08-28). "CoinSwitch sues WazirX to recover trapped funds". TechCrunch.
  25. ^ "CoinSwitch takes legal action against WazirX following $230-mn hack". Moneycontrol. August 29, 2024.
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