[Funding Alert]: Country's First Cryptocurrency Exchange 'Unocoin' bags $5 million from global investors

• It is the country's first cryptocurrency exchange that operates the largest BTC-INR trading platform.
• With this funding round, the Bengaluru-based firm valuation jumped to $20 million.
• The company saw a sharp surge in its customer growth rates after the Supreme Court removed the ban on cryptocurrency trading.

Cryptocurrency exchange startup Unocoin has raised $5 million in its Series A round of funding led by Draper Associates along with participation from XBTO Ventures and 2020 Ventures, the company said in a press note today.

The Bengaluru-based firm has been valued at $20 million after this round. With the fresh funds, the company is looking to strengthen its technology team, enhance its product infrastructure, and expand its scope of offerings.

"The funding will help us scale our business further, and give us a strong financial foothold to expand our platform’s offerings," said Sathvik Vishwanath, chief executive officer, Unocoin.

We will double down on our efforts to improve our product features and offerings, which will enhance the overall usability and functionality for our customers,” he added.

The company has seen a dramatic increase in crypto adoption in India following the lifting of an industry-wide ban by the Reserve Bank of India enacted in 2018.

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The entity is also looking to introduce an AI-based chatbot to help its customers.

The startup's customer growth rates have surged by more than 10X in the month the Supreme Court verdict was announced, accompanied by a 5X increase in trading volume in subsequent months, Sathvik said in the press note.

Tim Draper, the billionaire entrepreneur, has earlier invested in Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter and is known to be one of the most prominent faces of Silicon Valley.

Speaking on the investment, Draper said, “We are so thrilled that the stars aligned and we could finally back Unocoin. Every Indian should have a Bitcoin account with Unocoin. It is a great way to do business in a currency that doesn’t devalue over time.”

The Indian banking systems have started doing business with crypto accounts after the Supreme Court removed the ban. However, speculations are rife that the central government is looking at ways to ban these virtual assets and instead promote a government-owned and controlled digital currency.

Established in 2013, Unocoin is the country's first cryptocurrency exchange. It operates the largest BTC-INR trading platform which enables users in the country to transact and store bitcoin.

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